Welcome to Malheur NWR

Welcome to the beautiful Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Wildlife refuges are sanctuaries for animals, mostly migrating birds, and have generally been set up along paths taken by these fowl. Malheur is a water oasis in the high desert. It is located on a plain where no water escapes to the ocean. The water is trapped in a flat area surrounded by hills and mountains. There is very little rain. Most of the water is from snow melt in the higher elevations. There are a couple of rivers from the mountains that feed several lakes where the only escape is evaporation. The refuge follows one of the rivers and surrounds three of the major lakes.

View across the desert (from the RV)

The refuge is located about 30 miles from Burns Oregon. Burns is about 120 miles from Bend Oregon and about 180 miles from Boise Idaho. We can truly say this is a remote location. Burns has about 8000 people. It is the largest city in Harney County. It is about 70 miles from John Day, where we attended the SolWest Festival.

White Faced Ibis - they are mostly dark green and black.

Inside the Round Barn - built at the turn of the 19th century

Our first week was full. We signed in with the refuge, the paper work must be done, toured the driving route and had training on our positions in the visitor center. We visited some of the local attractions that we need to discuss with the visitors: The Rund Barn, built in the late 1800's to train the big work horses. We also drove to the top of Steen’s Mountain, the major source of water for the refuge. The road was a real challenge - it's called the rooster's comb. And it's rough! But the trip is worth it - it has what we think are gorgeous overlooks into the valleys. We are at a disadvantage right now. The wildfires from California are sending smoke our way, so the gawking is limited. So too are the picture opportunities. We plan to take another trip up when conditions are better.

The warning sign on the way up to Steens Mountain

This was the good road - we were afraid to stop on the real rough stuff

We also put in our first weekend of work. Our days are Friday through Sunday. We had few visitors on Friday, but Saturday and Sunday had a nice bit of traffic. We had people from Washington, Oregon and Idaho. One Idahoan was actually from near Chattanooga Tennessee. We had a good time watching Ospreys, Pelicans, Hummingbirds and other birds as well as chatting with the visitors.

One of the birds at the feeder - a yellow-headed blackbird. A new one for us.

There will be more on the refuge and our adventures in the area soon. Keep smiling and think of us occasionally.