wildlife photo destination mid Jan?

Turns out I have a few days I can wander off by myself the second week in January and was wondering what interesting winter wildlife photo destinations there might be in reasonable driving distance from Bellingham. Somewhere that has chances for interesting non-avian subjects would be good. I was thinking of going to Malheur, which is about the max driving I'd want to do, if it's interesting this time of year, but suggestions from experts would be great

thanks,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Not sure why you'd pick Malheur for wildlife if you don't want to photograph birds. Lots of deer there, but you can certainly find plenty of those with a shorter drive.

Have you visited the Oak Creek Wildlife Area near Yakima? Washington DFW has a winter feeding station there that attracts big numbers of elk. Nearby there's another winter feeding area for bighorn sheep.

There is also an elk feeding station in eastern Oregon near North Powder, but that might be a bit far for you.

You'll see plenty of birds at Malheur, as well as antelope. For the latter, you need a long lens unless you intend to set up a blind. With only a couple days, you'd likely not have the time to pattern them. This time of year, a lot of that area isn't accessible due to snowy / muddy roads. Not sure what current conditions are, but you can find them and phone #s on the site: http://www.fws.gov/malheur/

If conditions allow and you really want to get after it, look for the ponies on Steens. I've been there about five times in the past two years and have seen a herd at the southern entrance of the Steens Loops Rd each time. I've been up Kiger a couple times, both in early spring after melt-out had started and the road we took was too soupy to get as high as we wanted.

Another idea is the wild burros you can find right along the Nevada border, in Nevada, along NV 140. Here again, a bit of a haul, but absolutely incredible country. If you go, PM me and I'll give you directions to my favorite hot springs down there. It's not undiscovered but definitely less frequented than others like Alvord.

Beyond that, Greg's ideas are great and less of a drive.

Excellent, thanks for the input. And Greg, sorry I wasn't clear, I'm assuming mostly I'll be shooting birds, I was just thinking it'd be nice to head somewhere where there are other wildlife opportunities as well. On the Malheur site they mention a bunch of mammals, small and otherwise, I just don't know how likely it is I'd see a mink or a jackrabbit or coyote knocking around there in winter. The feeding stations might be good stopping spots on the way there, though.

Wesley - thanks for the pointer, that actually sounds like a pretty cool area, and I don't mind the drive if it's an interesting destination. The description of the Sheldon NWR sounds very interesting - any idea which of the pronghorn, bighorn, horses/burros, grouse or anything else I might see in Jan?

And actually you guys may have already mapped out an itinerary for me - head through Seattle, Yakima, down through the middle of Oregon to Malheur and then Sheldon, over to Klamath and work my way north. Given my 4-5 days that would actually most likely put me in Ridgefield heading home on the 11th..

thanks,
Jeff

Hope you can join us Jeff!

Ridgefield can be good for coyote, otter, weasel, nutria, etc.

Thanks everyone. Turns out I only have mid week so won't be making it on Sat, although I'll be working my way south to Nisqually, which I haven't been to, and then probably down to Ridgefield on Wed. and then back up home.

thanks for the info and help,
Jeff

...or the reverse of that, since Nisqually is closed Mon, Tues...