The following photos were taken by me, Rick Brooks.
I took them using a Canon AE1 Programmable SLR camera with a 70mm to 300mm zoom lens.
In order to make the images load faster, I have split My Favorite Photos into 6 pages.
This first set of photos were taken in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon. The refuge is located about 30 miles south Burns, Oregon on US 205. The Refuge is nearly 185,000 acres in size. It is known worldwide for its thousands of nesting and migrating birds. Bird watchers come from all over the world to view and photograph the over 250 species of birds. April and May are the best times to see most of the migratory birds. In addition to birds you will see lots of deer and an occasional antelope. If you are lucky you just might spot a coyote, lynx, raccoon and even a porcupine or two. The Malheur area is rich in history with many other interesting things to see including the spectacular Round Barn and Long Barn built by Peter French in the late 1800's. For more information check out the History of Malheur Area.
SANDHILL CRANEGrus canadenis
The Sandhill crane is a very large wading bird that prefers open country and freshwater marshes. They travel in large flocks. During the spring months at the refuge you can see thousands of them. They have a loud, hollow call, much like the Whooping Crane that carries for more than a mile.
MULE DEER
The winter of 1993 was very hard on the Mule Deer in the refuge. It was so cold and the snow was so heavy that the deer could not find food and hundreds of them starved to death. The farmers in the area took it upon themselves to try to save as many as they could by spreading hay in various areas in hopes that they would find it. When we visited the refuge in 1994 we saw only a handful of very thin scraggly deer, but upon our return in 1995 the population had once again increased. In a single day, driving all through the refuge, we were thrilled to spot over 120 deer including some nice young bucks. Mule Deer only reside in the eastern part of Oregon and are protected in the refuge. They are the largest deer species in North America.
CANADA GOOSEBranta canadensis
The Canada Goose arrives in huge flocks every year to the refuge. Many stay on through the winter, nesting in the marshes. They are easily recognized when arriving, even at a distance by their musical honking calls. While traveling through the refuge you will not only see them swimming on the water, but you will also find them resting in the lush grasses along the banks.
PHEASANT
There are a few different varieties of Pheasant in the refuge. These guys are very hard to photograph. In all our trips there we rarely were able to get a picture of one. The minute we would stop the car they would take off. This fat old guy just sat there and let us take several pictures of him. After we had taken almost a roll of him, we tried to get him to fly off. It took Pam walking toward him to get him to take off. I did get a shot of him in flight, but it turned out a bit blurry. This is probably the biggest pheasant I have ever seen in the wild.
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Page Last Updated - September 7, 2005.
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