Pacific Northwest Trip ~ January 7-8, 2013

At 3:00 AM, I drove to Philadelphia International Airport and flew to Seattle, Washington with a stopover in Salt Lake City, Utah. I got the rental car at around 4:00 PM. I had planned on heading northeast to Revelstoke, British Columbia to see a Brambling that was being seen every day there, but heavy snows were predicted for the area and the route there would involve driving over mountain passes. Since winter tires and chains were required in that case, I changed plans and headed south on I-5 towards California where a Falcated Duck had been seen in December. The duck had not been reported for a few weeks after heavy rains hit the area, but I was hoping that would change, plus I had never been to Oregon. I headed the 10+ hours down I-5 through Washington into Oregon (the 48th state that I've visited) and on down into northern California, hitting heavy fog in the Mount Shasta area. I parked at a rest area just north of Williams at about 2:00 AM and slept for about 5 hours.

At daybreak on the 8th, I drove over to Colusa National Wildlife Refuge to the spot where the duck was most often seen. Unfortunately, the whole area was enshrouded in fog, limiting sight range to only about 75 yards. The duck was nowhere to be found among the Greater White-fronted Geese, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and American Coots. A few Black-necked Stilts were present. In the surrounding area, I found Killdeer, Northern 'Red-shafted' Flicker, a Black Phoebe, small flocks of Bushtits and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Marsh Wren, and a California Towhee. A drive around the 'Auto Tour Route' revealed Pied-billed Grebe, Great Egret, White-faced Ibis, Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, Redhead, Bufflehead, Red-shouldered Hawk, Virginia Rail, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark.

Red-shouldered Hawk at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, California.

With little hope of the fog lifting, I headed back up I-5 towards Portland, Oregon. I eventually left the fog in the Central Valley region and climbed up into the mountains framed by clear blue skies. The 'Castle Crags' rock formations were interesting.

'Castle Crags' rock formations near Castella, California.

A Common Raven was present at a Mount Shasta viewpoint along I-5.

Snow-capped Mount Shasta was an impressive sight.

Mount Shasta from I-5 near Castella, California.

Mount Shasta from I-5 near Dunsmuir, California.

Amazingly, about twenty miles farther north, I found myself back in fog once again.

Along I-5 near Yreka, California.

Eventually, the fog thinned out as I re-entered Oregon, drove most of the way through the state, and got a motel near Tigard, south of Portland.

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