Mountains Lake Circuit

With a dawn start this can be a half day drive into the mountains east of Ashland, Oregon. It includes habitats and birds not found in lowlands. The more time you have, the more places you can stop. If you leave Ashland you'll bebgin at about 2200-feet in elevation and climb up above 5,000.

There are commercial establishments that sell food and drink, even lakeside marinas where boats can be rented. Campsites and rental cabins are found in several spots. This drive is especially worthwhile in spring or early morning in summer before the heat sends most birds and people into daily estivation.

With a dawn start this can be a half day drive into the mountains east of Ashland, Oregon. It includes habitats and birds not found in lowlands. The more time you have, the more places you can stop. If you leave Ashland you'll begin at about 2200-feet in elevation and climb up above 5,000.

There are commercial establishments that sell food and drink, even lakeside marinas where boats can be rented. Campsites and rental cabins are found in several spots. This drive is especially worthwhile in spring or early morning in summer before the heat sends most birds and people into daily estivation.

00 miles: The western terminus of Dead Indian Memorial Road where it turns east from Highway 66

This road begins just south of I-5 Exit 14, turn east from Oregon Route 66 which intersects with I-5 at Exit 14. Your elevation. This is near the junction of the creeks that join to form Bear Creek which drains this valley and takes the water north into the larger Rogue River.

01 mile: Ranchland and riparian habitat
Here the road parallels Walker Creek (right-hand) as you head generally east. The trees are mostly deciduous at this low elevation: oak, cottonwood, willow, alder. Anywhere oaks predominate on this route, listen for Acorn Woodpeckers laughing. They are year-round residents and always in colonies. Spotted Towhee, Western Scrub-jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tree Swallow. Expect Oak Titmouse and White-breasted Nuthatch where oaks predominate. Flycatchers in this area: Western Wood-Pewee and Pacific Slope. Western Kingbirds will hawk larger insects from utility poles where they often nest. Hummingbirds will be Anna's and Rufous. Bullock's Oriole and Black-headed Grosbeak nest here in summer. Bushtits and Black-capped Chickadees glean through the foliage. California Quail live in the dens underbrush of the north-facing slopes.

02 miles: Open grassland and small ponds
American Kestrel, Brewer's Blackbird, Barn Swallow, Western Kingbird. Western Meadowlarks and Lark Sparrows sing in May and June.

2.8 miles
Pull-outs here on both sides of the road, on the south side it’s gravel and right next to the riparian forest. On the north it's paved and offers clear views up the slope, which is largely grass-covered. Excellent spot for Kingbird, Western Meadowlark, Lark Sparrow. In spring there could be warblers and vireos along the creek, Spotted Towhee tear-round. Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks possible anywhere on this route. TVs rare during winter months.

03 miles
Dry pastures continue. In some places there is no road shoulder. Watch for generous pull-outs at some road elbows. Watch for Beechey's Ground Squirrel on perches above the grass tops. Mourning Dove, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Scrub-jay. Excellent pull-out at 3.3 miles on south side of road, right alongside the creek.

04 miles: Steep slope, with fine views down to the west and south
Volcanic rocks exposed. Bullock's Oriole flies up from the creek to chatter at us then we get out of the car. Bushtits nest along here as do Bullock's Oriole. Also present: Acorn Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, Black-headed Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, Western Meadowlark which even in summer will occasionally give forth one of America's finest bird songs. It was Audubon himself who first recognized the Western Meadowlark was a separate species when he heard them singing along the Missouri River in Nebraska as he made his only trip west of the Mississippi after he'd become famous as a bird artist. Earlier naturalists, including Townsend and Nuttall, had assumed there was only one kind of meadowlark as they looked so much alike.

04.6 miles
Another good pull-out on south side of the road. Mourning Dove, Scrub-jay, Crow. Golden Eagle possible in this open woodland terrain. Views here are marvelous. To the west is Ashland town nestled in its valley. To the southwest Mount Ashland with snow often lingering into June, rising over 7500 feet at the crest of the Siskiyou Mountains. To the north is Grizzly Peak, part of the Cascade Range.

05.2 miles
Large wooden cattle chute and corral on north side of the road. A thin-soiled hillcrest with sparse oaks and grass that dries out in summer. Western Kingbird, Violet-green Swallow, Bullock's Oriole, Lark Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Brewer’s Blackbird, Cowbird, Western Meadowlark.

06.5 miles
Road continues to climb, first evergreens in the woods. Ponderosa and Douglas-fir mix with oaks and madrone. Underbrush on south-facing slopes includes sage, confirming the annual drought of the sunny summers.

06.8 miles
Shale City Road junction on the left. This road climbs steeply and connects to dirt road that leads to trail head for climb to top of Grizzly Peak. This mountain forms the brow of the western face of the Cascades. Grizzly Peak rises over 5900-feet. It is said to be one good place to watch for Great Gray Owls on meadow edges.

07.3 miles
Cove Road turns south down a steep ravine holding Cove Creek. This ravine is filled with evergreens. A likely place for MacGillivray's Warbler, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Spotted Towhee, sparrows and other gleaners in the spring.

08 miles
Some of highest elevation oak forest on this route. Acorn Woodpecker year round. Lewis's Woodpecker possible in winter. California Quail.

09 miles
First ceanothus and elderberry bushes seen along the road. The ceanothus here may be either white or blue when blooming. There are at least three species of white ceanothus around here and four blue species. There are two native elderberries, both with creamy flowers in June. One species has red berries, the other has blue ones. Both attract numerous birds and bears when the berries ripen in late summer.

09.3 miles
On south side of road down a steep slope check for a tarn in a damp meadow. Good spot for winnowing Wilson's Snipe in May and June, other water-loving birds any time of the year.

11 miles
Sage now seen along roadside beneath the evergreens

12 miles: pull out on right
The upslope to the left(north) of road is dry and rocky. To the right is forest. Junco, Spotted Towhee, Tree and Violet-green swallow, Yellow-rumped Warbler. Further up Shale City Road rejoins this main road from the left (north).

13 miles: Pull out overlooking lush mountain meadow
Wildflowers abound here this July. Steller's Jay. Lesser Goldfinch, Western Tanager gives his cranking call, Spotted Towhee. From the trees I hear an accipiter call, perhaps a Cooper's Hawk though all three accipiter breed in these mountain woods. Listen here for calls and drumming from woodpeckers. Listen for songs of Varied or Hermit Thrush, possibly even Blue or Ruffed Grouse.

On this prairie between mile 13 and mile 15 is good in cold weather for raptors including Bald Eagle, who get the biggest share of carrion, as the Turkey Vultures have migrated south and don't return until late winter. But the big eagles still must compete with the Ravens.

Mature evergreen forest along the road. Mountain meadow here has Beechey's ground squirrel which you may spot sitting atop a fence post. In April and May you can catch the Wilson's Snipe winnowing, a whistling sound made with its wings. Later in the season there'll be Spotted Sandpiper fluttering along the streams through the dense grass. Here the Sandhill Cranes sometimes feed. Yellow Warblers, Lazuli Bunting, Cliff Swallows, Kestrel, Robins.

17.2 miles
Dirt road goes north from DIMR here, this is know as "Ditch Road," as it follows an irrigation ditch bringing water down to Howard Prairie Lake. IT is good late spring and summer birding with both forest and scrub habitat: Lazuli Bunting, Green-tailed Towhee, woodpeckers, flycatchers.

17.3 miles: northwest corner of Howard Prairie Lake, Intersection
Here turn right off Dead Indian Memorial onto Hyatt Prairie Road. Note the next box on the wooden sign, nest on the south end of sign. It's often used by Mountain Bluebirds. Check for them along fence lines as well. Other fence posts birds here include Savannah and Vesper (look for an eye-ring) Sparrows. The latter has a true song while the Savannah buzzes softly and often has yellowish tint on the face. The damp meadow east of Hyatt Prairie Road stretches to the shore of Howard Prairie Lake. This is a favored feeding and perhaps nesting site for Sandhill Cranes. They return as early as April when snow is still on the ground. There'll undoubtedly bee dozens of Canada Geese. In spring and summer the huge white birds are likely White Pelicans though geese are not impossible visitors on migration.

Before the camping season you can continue east on Dead Indian Memorial Road about a half mile to Lily Glen horse camp, and walk about there to get close to Vesper Sparrows. There's a large colony of Cliff Swallows at the restroom building there.

About 300 yards south of DIMR on Hyatt Reservoir Road on your right is a fire trail with metal gate. From here you can scope the north end of Howard Prairie Lake where waterfowl are most abundant. In woods are Chipping Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Tree and Barn Swallow, Yellow-rumped Warbler. Listen for woodpeckers and Red-breasted Nuthatch's little tin horn call. This meadow in evening is supposed to be one good place to look for Great Gray Owl, a specialty of this area. I have yet to find one here or at any of the other local hot spots. In late May 2007, there were three Sandhill Cranes foraging in this lakeside meadow. The species has bred near Howard Prairie in the past. They were present all spring, 2008, as well. Adults tinted their feathers red using iron-rich mud.

18.0 miles: Cattle crossing with easy pull-out on east side of road.
Good place to study the meadows and its birds and wildflowers. The small meadow west of the road here is bordered by large evergreens and is said to occasionally hold a Great Gray Owl.

19.3 miles
Drive south past Grizzly Creek camping ground on the left.

20 miles: Howard Prairie Recreation Area entrance
You are about 5,000 feet above sea level now. Turn left onto dirt road to marina, store, campgrounds. There is a cafe here that serves hot meals during the summer season. There's $4 day use charge in 2008. Here you can rent boats on go onto lake. Do this. $40 for five hour half-day use of 18-foot aluminum flat bottom with outboard motor. You can also rent by the hour. There are canoes but be aware there are power boats and an occasional jet ski on the lake. Most people come here for the rainbow trout fishing. Expect Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel around the parking lot and the store. Barn Swallows nest under eaves of the store as well. Here are islands to explore, birds to see, a chance to go ashore for a quiet picnic. Carry water, sunscreen & camera in addition to your binoculars. Get map of lake from marina, even if you intend to hike the lake shore to reach the north end. It's about a two-mile hike in one direction, past campgrounds and through woods. I recommend the freedom and fun of a boat.

As you face the lake from the marina, north is to your left and the north end of Howard Prairie Lake has plenty of shoreline marsh for waterfowl. Toward the right is the dam and deeper, more open water. Heading north from marina you will soon pass Doe Island where we saw a Bald Eagle. Locals believe there's a nest on the island but we couldn't see it from the boat. You can get pretty close to the island or land if you desire. It's covered with evergreens. To reach the far north end you go through a narrow but deep-enough channel before the lake opens into a broad but shallow Y-shape. At the north end of Howard Prairie Lake we found over 50 White Pelicans loafing on small islands or fishing. Ace birder and bird-book author, John Kemper tells us these pelicans are not breeding at the lake. They may be immature birds spending their summers there. And can be seen in spring and through the summer. We passed several female mergansers, one trailing a string of 20 ducklings. The Canada Geese are ever prolific and fertile. It was at this lake many years ago where I first saw two Bald Eagles bully an Osprey until it dropped its fish, which the lower flying eagle immediately swooped in to snatch in mid-air.

Bald Eagle, Osprey, Ravens, Canada Geese, White Pelicans, Clark's Grebe, Common Merganser, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Turkey Vulture, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Tree and Barn Swallow, Vaux's Swift, Red-winged Blackbirds. Coots can be found along with possibly migrating ducks. Duck species included Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, American Wigeon and Green-winged Teal.

On the lake in this season the small flying insects float through the air like bits of dust, some with glossy wings that reflect back a golden color in the sunlight. Zapping through these myriad nanocraft are the larger damselflies and some truly impressive dragonflies. The small blue darters were abundant. We also encountered bronze winger dragonflies, ones with four zebra-striped wings and a couple large electric blue jobs that looked like jetliners next to tiny flies and gnats. Despite the density of insect life we did not encounter a mosquito.

00 miles: As you leave Howard Prairie marina entrance, turn left
I've re-set the mileage assuming you have added some distance getting to marina and in the parking lot. We certainly did, moving the car to get into shade, etc. in late spring soe of these mountain openings can be alive with feeding birds as the snow melts here bfore it does in the shadier woods.

01.1 mile: Intersection
Road to Howard Prairie Dam goes left. Road to Hyatt Lake goes right. If you visit the dam, you've good chance of more views of eagle and Osprey on the large open end of the reservoir. Keeping right you soon we pass a 5 mile marker, probably distance from Dead Indian Memorial Road.

03.7 miles: On the left you can turn onto East Hyatt Lake Road
That road goes along other meadows where Great Gray Owl apparently occur. There are pull-offs all along the road now. Habitat is evergreen forest, with occasional meadows. Robin, Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Flicker. The Yellow-rumps love a good pish so give 'em a go. This has never proven to be a good birding road, however.

03.8 miles
Buck’s Divide Road heads west through tall timber. Now the corner of Hyatt Lake is on your left. A rough dirt road runs along the lake shore, or you can stick to the paved highway. There are many convenient pull-outs. Watch for Bald Eagle which are often seen passing overhead to and fro as they fish this lake.

04 miles: Table Mountain Road, unpaved, goes off to the right
Canada Geese, Double-crested Cormorant, Robin, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Dusky and Willow Flycatchers. For Hammond's you'll need to leave your car and get into the woods. Evenings in the woods here could let you hear forest owls, including Great Gray.

05 miles: Pull-off marked by binoculars sign
Here's a toilet and small paved parking area. Double-crested Cormorants nest in tall dead tree about fifty feet offshore, depending on lake level. Back north along the shoreline you should see large stick nest of Osprey on a tall snag. They begin nesting before Hyatt Lake is thawed some years. This lake is over 5,000 feet in elevation and thaws later than Howard Prairie. I have seen this lake frozen and snow-covered with hundreds of Tree Swallows fly-catching just above the drifts in early April.

At this pull-out you can expect Robin, Brewer's Blackbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler even on a cold spring day. I seen them chasing insects across snow that is defying the spring sunshine. Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Mountain Chickadee, Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Junco, Red-breasted Nuthatch. It's here I spotted my Oregon lifer, Williamson's Sapsucker, late June, 2008. Both male and female were present. This is known among local birders as reliable spot for Williamson's.

06 miles: Left hand dirt road to Hyatt Lake Resort & dam site.
The surface of Hyatt Lake averages an elevation of 5,015 feet above sea level. Primitive store here, cabins without kitchens, good views of dam area from large dirt parking lot. Here we took East Hyatt Road which leads downhill toward State Route 66.

07 miles: Mountain stream crosses under road
There are numerous gravel roads leading off into deep evergreen forest here. Still wanting to track woodpeckers and Hammond's Flycatcher, this is good place to try as dense forest stretches over next few miles. We found butterflies thick along the road edge here.

10 miles: Intersection with STOP sign
This is Oregon Route 66. Sign says: Ashland 18 (to the west or right), Klamath Falls 45 (to the east or left). At this intersection is the Green Springs Inn and the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Information office which appears to be about six foot square. Now the road begins to descend and follows a small creek.

11 miles: Small reservoir created by dam across Keene Creek
Stop at uphill end of reservoir where the road has curved bridge over Keene Creek. The old road bridge is still there on the right. It affords good spot to bird the mountain stream and its flanking trees. We were here in the heat of mid-day so bird activity was diminished. In this small reservoir I've seen Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, both Goldeneyes, Coots. There is little shoreline vegetation so diving ducks feel most at home here.

12 miles: Green Mountain Summit, 4,551 feet elevation
You'll begin to get your first looks at 7,500-foot Mount Ashland to the west. Soon you also see Pilot Rock to the southwest, a round rock standing above the surrounding ridges. Here the forest becomes dominated by oaks as the elevation drops and the heat increases. During the descent any amateur geologists will be noticing the bare volcanic rocks and the ways in which they cooled or were extruded in this area with a long, eruptive history. The views here along Route 66 are the most extensive of the trip. Camera time.

Western Wood-Pewee, Rufous Hummingbird.

14 miles: Pull off on left hand side
Vertiginous cliff offers view over the 1,000 foot deep gorge holding Schoolhouse Creek. Here the volcanic rocks are crystallized in hexagonal tubes, side-by-side like shitake mushrooms. Here also I watched two juvenile Goshawk working hundreds of feet over the trees at the bottom of the gorge. Their fluffy white undertail coverts gave them the apparent tail pattern of Junco. Field guides are not terribly helpful with this look--you're not supposed to be looking down onto a Goshawk right?

17 miles: Watch for milepost 10 on Highway 66, it's at a large dirt pull-out on the east side of the road and there's a large farm gate and tall utility polls in the field to the west
Oaks here shelter Lewis's Woodpeckers in winter, they may linger until early May. Also about: Lesser Goldfinch, Acorn Woodpeckers (resident), Western Bluebird, Chipping Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Kestrel. Look back uphill for possible glimpse of Golden Eagle. This dry western sloping terrain is also the area where you're most likely to see Black-billed Magpie in Jackson County.

As you move down into oak-studded grasslands, you have re-entered the territory of Western Scrub-jay, Americans Crows, Oak Titmouse, Ash-throated Flycatcher and the usual riparian species along the creeks.

19 miles: If you continue on Highway 66 it takes you alongside the western shore of Emigrant Lake and back toward Ashland and I-5's Exit 14.
Buckhorn Road on the left, along with Buckhorn Creek. If you turn left and go up this road, some rich birding habitat awaits you. Scrub on the hilltops have Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, an uncommon species in this area. Also these forests have Nashville Warblers, woodpeckers, Oak Titmouse. A pair of Dippers usually nest at the first bridge where the new bridge parallels a rotting, abandoned wooden one.

Buckhorn creek flows into upper end of Emigrant Lake. Rich riparian habitat here. And you are now in the Emigrant Lake area, which is really another birding trip altogether and you are about four miles from the start of Dead Indian Memorial Road. Just follow Route 66 on into Ashland or back to Exit 14.

Intersection of old Siskiyou Highway and Highway 66. If you turn left (south) on old Siskiyou Highway you will wind along the steep and switchback route of old Highway 99. Just south of the switchback where the road literally circles over itself as it gains altitude is apparently the best place in Jackson County to look for Evening Grosbeak in May. I have seen them here myself. "Oh sure," say the veteran birders here. They expect the Evies in this area. This road eventually takes you past the turn-off to Mount Ashland (next to the last I-5 interchange inside Oregon) and then on to the base of Pilot Rock.

TOWHEE.NET:  Harry Fuller, 243 Granite Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520
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