Black-necked Stilt near Hines, Oregon on 29 May, 2010 by Greg Gillson.[Click to read all Memorial Day weekend at Malheur posts.]
Malheur birding starts in the sister towns of Hines and Burns, Oregon. Burns is about 180 miles west of Boise, Idaho or about 125 miles east of Bend, Oregon (about 300 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon). [See the list of backyard birds of Burns.]
The agricultural fields immediately south of Burns and east of Hines are filled with large photogenic wading birds in late May. These include Sandhill Cranes, American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts (above), Long-billed Curlews, Willets, Wilson's Snipes, White-faced Ibises, Wilson's Phalaropes, Great Egrets, and others. Yellow-headed Blackbirds sing from the fence rows. Black Terns hawk insects over the marshes. Redheads, Canvasbacks, Cinnamon Teals, and other ducks are found in every pond.
You may also see Coyotes, Badgers, Mule Deer, Porcupines, Belding's Ground Squirrels, Least Chipmunks, Kangaroo Mice, Pronghorn Antelope, and perhaps Wild Mustangs in the surrounding area.
Wilson's Snipe on fencepost overlooking flooded fields near Hines, Oregon on 25 May, 2007 by Greg Gillson.