Wildlife Safari - Winston, Oregon

Winston, Oregon is about midway between Eugene and Medford off the I-5. We were driving through Winston in early September and saw signs for Wildlife Safari. We decided to follow the signs to it and got there just as it was closing. Judy suggested we come back the next morning which we did, and were very happy as it turned out to be one of the most fun activities of our trip. 

A gray-crowned crane, a beautiful African bird which we've seen in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. 

One of the wonderful things about these safari parks is that you can get some of the wildlife to come right up to the side of the car. 

Blue wildebeest. We've seen these in the wild in Etosha NP in Namibia. 

An eland. We've seen these in the wild in Nairobi NP in Kenya. 

Burchell's zebra which we've seen in the wild in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. 

A lion behind an additional protective fence. These enclosures are just a step-above a normal zoo and not as interesting. 

The biggest surprise was to be in the same enclosure with several southern white rhinos. At Fossil Rim these were in protective enclosures. Very cool. We've seen them in the wild at Nakuru NP in Kenya. 

A wild turkey vulture visiting under its own volition. 

Other wild visitors included Rio Grande turkeys which were in several enclosures as well as the road outside the park. 

Ellipsen waterbuck which we've seen in Buffalo Springs NR in Kenya and the Okavango Delta of Botswana.  

Guanaco, which we'd hoped to see in Patagonia earlier this year, but our trip was cut short by Covid. 

Black bears in a controlled exhibit with additional fencing. 

By far my favorite enclosure was huge and included bison and large Roosevelt elk. It stood out for the size of the enclosure, the beauty of the setting with hills and trees, the quantity of the bison and elk and the sheer size of the huge elk. 

Two hippos in an additionally secured enclosure. 

Nilgai antelope. I think these are the first I've ever seen in a zoo or otherwise. 

Rhea, a South American bird we'd hoped to see in Patagonia before our trip was terminated by Covid. 

White-naped crane, another animal I've never seen before. Beautiful. 

Blackbuck. 

Wildlife Safari is on about 600 acres. It consists of a Safari Village, which did not do much for us, which includes a petting zoo, restaurant, gift shop, playground and some animals in cages. The reason to go is found along a 4.5 mile drive: free-roaming animals wandering in very large fenced-in areas which cars can drive through. There are also some areas with more dangerous animals that cars can only be viewed through cages along the drive, including hippos, elephants, black bears, brown bears, lions and cheetahs. Those areas are okay. The real treat are the animals in the huge enclosures that provide a semblance of the animals in their natural habitat. 

Aside from a real safari in an exotic location, I rate this as the second best experience we've had, behind Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glenrose, Texas. 

Oak Titmouse

I visited Covington Park and Great Morongo Preserve on Saturday and saw several oak titmouses, a bird I've never seen before, or even heard of before. They were making quite a racket, so I heard them well before I saw them. When I did see them, they were predominantly hanging upside down. 

In 1996, the species, plain titmouse, was separated into two separate species, the oak titmouse and the juniper titmouse. The oak titmouse is only found in California, with some minor extensions beyond the border. The juniper titmouse is found primarily in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, as well as some small portions of California. 

An interesting photo of it leaving a branch in flight. 

It is small and gray with brown tinges and a distinctive tuft or crest. As I noted, they sometimes hang upside down to forage. They primarily eat insects and spiders, but will also take berries, acorns and some seeds. 

White-Crowned Sparrow

Adult white-crowned sparrows have bold white and black stripes on their heads, kind of like a University of Michigan football helmet, but with different colors, which makes them very easy to identify. The face is gray, the upper parts are brown with a barred pattern, the underparts are gray and they have a short triangular shaped bill that is orange to yellow. 

An immature sparrow, at Humboldt Bay NWR.

A mature sparrow. 

Immature birds have the same stripes on the head, but the stripes are brown and gray and make it look like a completely different bird. 

An immature white-crowned sparrow in Live Oak Canyon on November 15th. 

A mature sparrow in Live Oak Canyon, also on November 15.

A mature sparrow in Live Oak Canyon.

Earlier this year I saw several at the Humboldt Bay NWR, I've seen them in Live Oak Canyon in Redlands, near our home, and I saw a bunch of them in Morongo Valley yesterday. 

This photo, and those that follow, were taken in Morongo Valley yesterday. This photo, and the next one, are immature birds. Those afterwards are all mature. 

They are really quite beautiful. 

California Mule Deer

I've spent years and lots of time hiking in the mountains and foothills of Southern California and I've seen very few deer. Just off the top of my head, I can think of: (a) four this year in and near Corn Springs (a siting of one and a siting of three); (b) several near Mount San Jacinto, at least one in Round Valley and one in Tamarack Valley; (c) one near Deep Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains; (d) one in Live Oak Canyon and several in our residential neighborhood near Live Oak Canyon; and (e) one near the summit of Mt. Baldy.  I've had a little better luck in the Sierras: near the Cottonwood Lakes above Lone Pine; near Thousand Mile Lake outside Mammoth; and in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. Today I had my best deer experience in California, by far. It was almost like experiences I've had in Utah and Colorado where mule deer are very common. I probably saw about 15 in and between Covington Park and Big Morongo Canyon Reserve in Morongo, California, just east of Hwy 62.

A mother and an older fawn.

A little later I went walking into the trees where they disappeared and found them bedded down. 

The California mule deer is a subspecies of the mule deer and I wondered if what I was seeing were California mule deer, or perhaps desert mule deer, or even southern mule deer, which are found in southernmost California. But as I look to see what differentiates the subspecies of mule deer I find an article here that casts doubt on most of the distinctions in the subspecies, except for the black-tailed deer, based on some limited DNA testing. 

This is actually a pretty good sized buck. 

This buck is hanging back in the trees. I think it may be the same one, but I'm not positive.

This is a spike buck with very small antlers. 

This is my favorite photo from my following them into the trees. Most of those photos had substantial barriers such as significant branches and trees that obstructed the views.