Cabin Lake Oregon is one of my favorite photo locations.  I have photographed there for the last 15 years, usually several days per year.  Cabin Lake is in Lake County and within the Deschutes National Forest about 10 miles due north of the community of Fort Rock.  A good gravel road connects Fort Rock and Cabin Lake.  A very primitive U.S. Forest Service campground is present just north of the Cabin Lake guard station.   

Cabin Lake is an infrequently used U.S. Forest Service Guard Station.  Behind the guard station buildings are two small concrete water basins.  The basins are fenced to exclude cattle and each water basin has a permanent wooden photo/observation blind within 10 to 12 feet.  The blinds are large enough to accommodate several users.  These blinds generally face north toward the basins.

The facilities are currently maintained by Tom Lawler with support from the East Cascade Audubon Society.  Tom is also the top e-birder at this location with almost 80 species.  The basins are charged May through October in most years.  I have visited the blinds in June, July, August, September, October, and November.  The November trip was to photograph rutting mule deer and the basins were not operative.  September had the highest species diversity with 33 species over 3 days.  However, plumages are generally fresher in June.

The basins are located on the edge between Eastside Pine and Sagebrush Steppe communities.  They are about the only available surface water for some distance and draw wildlife from both communities.  E-bird lists 139 species for this site.  I have photographed 45 avian species here.  All of the following photographs were taken at Cabin Lake.  I keep a list of observations and my occurrence and abundance information below is based on these lists.

These species include

Stellar's Jay - For me, these striking jays have been relatively uncommon.  Usually one bird every 3rd or 4th visit.

Pinyon Jay - These jays are common and can occur in noisy groups of 15 to 20.  They make use of the water basins and the suet feeders.

Spotted Towhee - Spotted towhee have been relatively common with individuals present on about one-half my visits.  It is not always easy to get them off the ground and on a perch.  The bird feed I spread keeps these towhees coming back all day to feed on the scattered seed.

Green-Tailed Towhee - These towhees are common, but not abundant with one or two observed on most visits.  Like spotted towhee, these guys are ground feeders and difficult to capture on a perch.

Mountain Bluebird - Bluebirds are cavity nesters.  Several bird boxes as well as large snags are scattered around the area and both mountain and western bluebirds breed locally.  By late July or early August good numbers of young of the year are present.  These bluebirds feed on the meal worms and drink or bathe in the basins.

Western Bluebird - Common and they can be fairly numerous after young have fledged.

Clark's Nutcracker - Noisy and common.  I frequently have groups of 4 to 6 at the basins at one time.  This species also makes use of suet.

Northern Flicker - Common and observed on nearly every visit.

White-Headed Woodpecker - Common and observed on nearly every visit. Suet eaters.

Hairy Woodpecker - Relatively uncommon with only a handful of observations over 15 years.

Lewis's Woodpecker - My favorite western woodpecker.  Uncommon and very spooky.  If you make noise or even a slight movement they are gone.  I have photographed them here 3 times.

Red-Breasted Sapsucker - Very uncommon.  I have only observed them at the basins on a single occasion.

Williamson's Sapsucker - This female is my only observation of a Williamson's sapsucker at Cabin Lake.  I keep hoping for a male in breeding plumage.

Pygmy Nuthatch - These little guys are relatively common with observations on about half of my visits.  They can be quite numerous in September.

White-Breasted Nuthatch - Common with observations made on most visits.  Never numerous, but fairly regular visitors to the water basins.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch - Uncommon or absent during June, July and August.  Fairly common in September

American Robin - Observed in small numbers on over one-half of all visits.

Townsend's Solitaire - Relatively uncommon with maybe 8 observations over 15 years.

Gray Flycatcher - This species was observed on only 3 occasions, primarily in June and July.

Bullock's Oriole - This female represents my only observation of this species at this location.

Lazuli Bunting - I have photographed this species at the basins on 3 occasions and never more than a single individual at a time.

Brewer's Blackbird - These blackbirds have been relatively uncommon for me with only a few observations.

Brown-Headed Cowbird - Cowbirds have also been uncommon with only a few observations.

Mourning Dove - These doves are common and come into drink but frequently stay to work over the seed.  Like towhees they can be difficult to photograph off the ground.

Eurasian-Collared Dove - This invasive species is fairly common.

Lesser Goldfinch - Rarely observed.  

Red Crossbill - Common and in some years quite numerous with groups of 40-50 individuals mobbing the basins.  Cabin Lake is really an excellent location to capture this species.

Cassin's Finch - Common and generally abundant.  However, numbers fluctuate from year to year.

Savannah Sparrow - Relatively uncommon, with most observations during September.

Lincoln's Sparrow - Uncommon with my only observations during September.  Perhaps a migrating individual.

Chipping Sparrow - Common to abundant depending on the year.

Brewer's Sparrow - Common small drab sparrow.

Vesper Sparrow - Relatively uncommon.  Most observations in August or September.

White-Crowned Sparrow - Uncommon.  Only observed during September, presumably in migration.

Golden-Crowned Sparrow - Uncommon.  Observed only in small numbers during September.

White-Throated Sparrow - Only a single individual observed in September.

Western Tanager - Irregular.  Common but not numerous in most year.

Mountain Chickadee- Fairly common resident breeder.  Present during most visits.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler - Fairly common breeding species.  A few individuals observed on most visits.

Yellow Warbler - One brief observation during September. 

Western Meadowlark - Normally a grassland species.  I was surprised to see one at Cabin Lake.

Dark-Eyed Junco - Observed in small numbers only during September.

Sage Sparrow - I occasionally see this species in the tall sagebrush along the road north of Fort Rock.  This individual was my only observation at the water basins.

Willow Flycatcher - This flycatcher was photographed at the site in June and was likely a migrating bird as suitable habitat is absent from the local environment.

Pine Siskin - Common species in September and October.  Uncommon earlier in the year.

I use a portable "Doghouse" ground blind instead of the wooden blinds.  This allows me to set up with the sun at my back mornings and evenings and obtain optimum light.  I provide seed, meal worms, and suet to hold birds in the area.  I place perches of different sizes and various distances from the blind.  However, I generally set them up behind the basins so that the birds are looking towards the basin and the blind.  These perches include several woodpecker poles (horizontal logs).  My observations indicate that different species show a preference for different basins.  The upper basin is more wide open and dominated by grass and low sage.  This basin seems to attract more doves, bluebirds, robins, blackbirds, and woodpeckers.  The lower basin has more shrub cover and is attractive to towhees, sparrows, and nuthatches.  The lower basin also has better photo backgrounds.

I have also photographed a number of Great Basin mammals at this location including badger, long-tailed weasel, mule deer, gray squirrel, black-tailed jackrabbit, least chipmunk, golden-mantled ground squirrel, and cottontail rabbit .  A few photos of these species are displayed below.

Badger - On my most recent visit in October 2021, an adult badger came in three times on consecutive mornings.  A den was located within 10 feet of the water basin.  This was my only sighting of a badger although I have seen their tracks on a few occasions.

Least Chipmunk - These little guys are abundant with 10-12 working the bird seed on most visits.  They have also boldly enter my blind and attempted to help themselves to my lunch.

Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel - I normally have 1 or 2 of these present on most visits.  Quite the posers.

Long-Tailed Weasel - I have 3 observations of these quick little subjects in 15 years.  They hunt the numerous chipmunks.  Once they come in they create a chipmunk free zone around the basin for at least one-half an hour.

Cottontail Rabbit - Very occasional visitor as are black-tailed jackrabbits.

Cabin Lake is an amazing location for bird photography.  You never know what you might get.  The action can be nearly constant and it is not uncommon to shoot 1,000 images in a morning.  If the action suddenly slows, you may want to get out of the blind and check for hawks or falcons nearby.  Even during the week other birders or photographers are frequently present.  On one weekend morning 7 other photographers were present before daylight.  Consider a birdwatching or photography visit to Cabin Lake.