Prineville
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Location
Prineville is located 18 miles east of Redmond on Hwy 126. It is 36 miles from Bend, 144 miles from Albany, 148 miles from Portland, 148 miles from Eugene, 151 miles from Salem, 175 miles from Klamath Falls, and 208 miles from Medford. Prineville is the largest community in Crook County and is the only community with a variety of services. Two city parks in particular offer very nice birding in migration. Crooked River Park is on Main Street just one block south of town (44.293320, -120.846789). Drive south on Main until you see the baseball diamonds. Park and walk along the creek or drive to the far south end of the park and bird the river. Ochoco Creek Park is in the heart of the city between Elm and Juniper Streets (44.304897, -120.836436). This park straddles Ochoco Creek and has lots of attractive trees and riparian areas for migrants. To reach Ochoco Park, travel on North 3rd Street east past Main Street to Juniper Street. Turn north and park at the parking area. Ochoco Creek runs through most of the town of Prineville and it is flanked by a bike path so accessing it at any point could be productive during migration.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
The town of Prineville can be productive as a birding location. The neighborhoods between N. 3rd and Lynn Blvd on the south side of town have plenty of fruiting trees for waxwings and birches for the finches. The north side of town, near the hospital, is another good neighborhood for city birds. In winter, expect good finch numbers and a few Merlin, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Cooper’s Hawk. In migration, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Cassin’s Finch, Western Tanager, Evening Grosbeak and Bullock’s Oriole can be found along with a nice variety of warblers, vireos and flycatchers. Summer residents include Rufous Hummingbird, Wood Duck, Osprey, and Cedar Waxwing.
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