March 8, 2025
Sauvie Saturday
It’s so important to lock down all of the critical aspects of a plan before committing anything. This morning I woke up and reviewed the flights to and from Milan that Rachael and I agreed to last night. First though, I took a few minutes to check out hotels in Milan, a place we planned to leave our suitcases at for three months and spend a few days visiting at the end of the tour. I was shocked though to see how outlandishly expensive Milan is, at least if you’re going to secure a room anywhere near the center. These hotels start at $600/night and go up! To find anything even remotely reasonable I spotted a few apartments about five miles out, but even these were around $300/night.
Logistically, there are four other airports we could base from for this itinerary: Pisa, Rome, Bologna and Bari would all work, but Bari is the best because it’s right on our itinerary but also because it’s on the fast Intercity train line we’ll take when we move on to France. I talked myself into Milan as a better choice largely because of the flight itself, which for the same price as Bari is a one stop rather the longer two hopper to Bari. The cost of lodging blows up that advantage though, and it would probably cost more to stay in Milan than it would to fly there.
So Bari it is. Rachael and I go over this when she’s up, she quickly agrees, and after booking the flight she and I start studying Bari’s central hotels deciding which ones we wanted to approach to see if they’ll store our suitcases for three months.
And then I finally get around to assembling Rachael’s bike and by noon we’re driving out to Sauvie Island. The weather looks promising - partly sunny with light winds, from what Weather.com tells us. We’ve got the usual ride plan for this outing - we’ll ride together until the first interesting bird comes along to hold me up. And then I’ll meet up with her after she’s doubled back from the end of the road and ride back to the car together.
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We usually ride together for a little longer than this, but I stop at the first bend in the road when I see a pair of midsized birds atop a utility pole. She’s a Newtonian at heart and believes in the Second Law of Thermodynamics and continues on, disappearing from view before I’ve even got the camera focused.
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From a birding perspective, I have high hopes for today’s outing. At this time of year I’m almost guaranteed to at least see my first sandhill cranes of the year, but I’m hopeful that I could pick up a trumpeter swan or Steller’s jay too; plus snow geese, maybe a bald eagle. It turns out less productive than I’d hoped though. I do get a few nice sightings - especially a pair of adult bald eagles and a couple more kestrels - but there aren’t that many birds around today on the part of the island I make it to before I see Rachael heading back my way.
There are a couple of things going on here. One is that the best birding on the island is at the north end near Sturgeon Lake, and with all my dawdling I’m just getting there when it’s time to turn back. The other thing though is the weather. It’s overcast, chillier and much windier here than the forecast, and Rachael is in a hurry to get back to the Raven and fire up its heated seats when I catch up with her.
As we bike back to the car we enjoy the view of Mount Hoof, clear and white in front of a blue sky. It looks like the forecast was accurate, actually. It is clear, in Portland. We need to remember to check the forecast out here ten miles to the north though before we come back next time. Which will be soon - it’s about time for the cranes to head north and the Ospreys to arrive. I probably should make another run next weekend if the weather permits.
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Today’s list: American crow, Mallard, Eurasian wigeon, Canvasback, Green winged teal, Mourning dove, California Jay, Bald eagle, American kestrel, American robin, Canada goose, Cackling goose (10)
Today's ride: 27 miles (43 km)
Total: 1,186 miles (1,909 km)
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When were you two planning on arriving? It would be a shame if it was the same time and we missed each other. We're roughly heading from Somma Lombardo towards Ancona (arriving around Easter). Will you be anywhere near there then?
3 days ago
3 days ago