Traveling season

Just came back from our first trip of the season. This was to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and to the Malheur Lake region and Steens Mts. in eastern Oregon. Saw lots of interesting sites, birds and a whole lot of sage brush. This is big sky ranching country, quiet, remote and grand.

We were fortunate to have a retired BLM biologist as our guide. He took us to places we would never have found on our own. He is documenting the current status of golden eagle nests in the region. Here are a couple nest on a cliff face. The left one has a fledgling chick in it. The scale is very deceptive. These nests are about 6-8 ft tall.


Shot will cellphone through a spotting scope


This guy was resting quietly and quite unperturbed by our walking by.