Mission Name: Sunday Drive
Objective: See elk
Status: FAILED
In over 50 years of living, I’ve never seen an elk outside a zoo. This morning, I drove to the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area in Clatsop County, Oregon, hoping to glimpse the Roosevelt elk that winter there. I waited too long.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, elk are most active from November through April. I hoped a few stragglers had procrastinated—like me—and were still lingering in the area. Alas, no such luck. The only member of the deer family I spotted was a black-tailed deer, and that was on the drive home.
I saw plenty of birds—Tree Swallows and Violet-green Swallows, along with the ever-present Dark-eyed Juncos and Black-capped Chickadees. At one point, I found myself in the middle of a battle royale between a Red-winged Blackbird and a smaller, unidentifiable opponent. I heard a screech, ducked instinctively, and watched as the two birds shot past my head in a flurry of feathers. The blackbird was victorious.
meant when it said, “Viewing Area.”
The Philomath 
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