Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Christmas Bird Count with the Audubon Society of Portland.

• American Crow
• Downy Woodpecker
• Canada Geese
• Mallards - male and female
• Northern Pintails
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• Cackling Geese
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• American Wigeons
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• Anna's Hummingbirds
• White-Breasted Nuthatch - call
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• House Finch 
• Oregon Junco - call
• Song Sparrows
• Great Blue Heron
• Cooper's Hawk
• Bufflehead - female
• Wood Ducks - male and female
• Northern Shovelers
• Gadwall
• Green-Winged Teal
• Brown Creeper
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Varied Thrush
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Northern Flicker
• Common Merganser
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Belted Kingfisher
• Lesser Goldfinch
• American Goldfinch

Downy Woodpecker

frosty spiderwebs 

Scappoose

My parents house:

• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Varied Thrush
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Brown Creeper
• Oregon Juncos (That were freakishly larger than any I've ever seen.  The ones I see are not much bigger than chickadees.  These were closer to the size of a towhee!)
• Anna's Hummingbird

Multnomah Channel - Scappoose Dike:

• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Canada Geese
• Red-Winged Blackbird - male
• Purple Finches - males and females
• Sandhill Cranes
• American Robin
• House Sparrows
• Downy Woodpecker
• Bald Eagle
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Common Merganser
• Pileated Woodpecker - call
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Harrier
• American Kestrel
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Western Gull

Purple Finches - male and female

Western Scrub-Jay

Commonwealth Lake Park

• Common Merganser
• Mallards
• Canada Geese
• Western Gull
• American Wigeons
• Bufflehead
• Hooded Merganser - female
• American Coots
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Greater White-Fronted Geese
• American Crow
• Bushtits
• Domesticated Waterfowl
• Great Blue Heron
• American Robin
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• House Finches
• Belted Kingfisher - female
• Song Sparrow
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Mourning Dove
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow

American Wigeon - male

American Wigeon - female

Goose

Belted Kingfisher - female

Mallard - female

Mallard - male

Mallard searching for food

Common Merganser - female

Hood River/ Sandy River/ Columbia River Gorge

A very Awesome day long trip, smashing my 'highest number of species in one day' record.

• Canada Geese
• Western Grebe
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• Common Goldeneyes*
• Greater White-Fronted Goose*
• Western Gulls
• Hooded Mergansers
• Bald Eagle
• Pie-Billed Grebe
• Buffleheads
• Great Blue Herons
• Oregon Junco
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler
• Horned Grebe
• Song Sparrow
• American Coot
• Lesser Scaup
• American Crow
• Varied Thrush
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Downy Woodpeckers
• European Starlings
• Spotted Towhee
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpeckers
• American Wigeon
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Common Raven
• Mallards
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
• American Kestrel
• Western Meadowlark*
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• Northern Harrier

*Lifers!

Pileated Woodpecker

Western Grebe
(It was so cold that my camera couldn't even focus!)

Mt. Hood

Hood River

Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve

• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Oregon Juncos
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Anna's Hummingbirds
• Northern Shovelers
• American Wigeons
• American Coots
• Mallards
• Gadwalls
• American Kestrel
• House Finches
• Northern Pintail
• Song Sparrow
• Great Blue Heron
• American Robin
• Tundra Swan
• Western Gull
• Northern Flicker
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• European Starlings
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Great Egret 
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• Ring-Necked Duck
• Canada Geese

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

Beaverton Creek Wetlands Park

• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Mallards - males and females
• Canada Geese
• Great Blue Heron
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call
• Ring-Necked Duck

Pied-Billed Grebe

Red-Tailed Hawk

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

"As cousins, we went birding at Ridgefield the day before Thanksgiving." HAA!
Another great trip to Ridgefield with my bird instructor/cousin. 

• Mallards
• Great Egret
• American Kestrel
• American Coot
• Northern Shoveler
• Western Gull
• Great Blue Heron - juvenile
• American Robins
• European Starlings
• Western Scrub-Jays
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Northern Flicker
• Cinnamon Teal
• Hooded Merganser - male
• Tundra Swans*
• Northern Harrier
• Bufflehead - female
• Peregrine Falcon*
• Gadwalls
• Bald Eagles - juvenile and adult
• Bewick's Wren
• American Wigeons
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Northern Pintails
• Sandhill Cranes
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Canada Geese

+Coyote

+Beavers

+Nutria

*Lifers!

Juvenile Great Blue Heron

European Starlings

Scappoose Field

• Oregon Juncos
• Spotted Towhee
• Northern Flicker
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• American Crow
• Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird
(A little blurry, but I'll take what I can get!)

Commonwealth Lake Park

• Domesticated Waterfowl
• American Wigeons
• Bufflehead - male
• American Coots
• Mallards
• Great Blue Heron
• Western Gull
• Song Sparrow
• Oregon Junco
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Varied Thrush*
• Steller's Jay
• European Starlings
• Brewer's Blackbird
• American Robins
• House Sparrow
• Canada Geese
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• Green Heron
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call
• Common Merganser - female

*Lifer!

American Coot

Double-Crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Sauvie's Island

• American Kestrel
• Canada Geese
• Sandhill Cranes
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Snow Geese*
• Great Egret
• Western Gulls
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Song Sparrows
• Northern Flicker
• Bald Eagles
• Northern Harrier
• American Coots
• Mallards
• Cackling Geese
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call
• Great Blue Heron
• Black-Capped Chickadee - call
• Oregon Junco
• Eurpean Starlings
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Northern Pintail
• Northern Shoveler
• Ring-Necked Duck
• Buffleheads - female

*Lifer!

"A flock of geese leave their lake and take wing, turning to poems in the sky."  

~Dr. SunWolf

Canada Geese and Snow Geese flee from a raptor

Whitaker Ponds Nature Park

• Western Scrub-Jay
• American Robins
• Northern Flicker
• Song Sparrow
• Oregon Juncos
• American Crow
• American Wigeon
• Canada Geese
• Mallards
• Hooded Mergansers
• Bufflehead - female
• Ring-Necked Duck
• Gadwalls
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Belted Kingfisher - female
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Horned Owl!

Way too dark by the time we saw the owl :(

Furnhill Wetlands

• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Short-Billed Dowitchers*
• Mallards - male and female
• Domesticated waterfowl
• Northern Pintail
• Bufflehead 
• Common Merganser* - male and female
• American Coot
• American Kestrel
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Western Gull
• Bonaparte's Gull*
• American Robins - male and female
• Canada Geese
• Cackling Geese*
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• Red-Winged Blackbird - male
• Mourning Dove
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Western Grebe
• Horned Grebe*
• European Starlings
• Northern Shovelers
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Green-Winged Teal*
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet*
• Northern Flicker
• Oregon Juncos
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Cooper's Hawk - juvenile
• Song Sparrow
• Rock Dove

*Lifer!

Short-Billed Dowitchers

Great Blue Heron

Lincoln City/ Depoe Bay/ Newport

The most epic trip to date. 

Places visited
-Josephine Young Memorial Park in Lincoln City 
-Fogarty Creek State Park North of Depoe Bay
-Boiler Bay Viewpoint in Depoe Bay 
-Yaquina Head Bay in Newport

• Great Blue Heron
• Song Sparrows
• Common Raven
• Western Gulls
• American Crows
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• House Sparrows
• Mourning Doves
• Great Egrets
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• Golden-Crown Kinglets*
• Surf Scoters - male and female 
• Black Oystercatchers
• Brown Pelicans
• Pelagic Cormorants
• Brandt's Cormorants
• Savannah Sparrow*
• Belted Kingfisher
• American Wigeons*
• Western Grebe*
• Common Murre
• Western Sandpipers*
• Black Scoter
• European Starlings
• Semipalmated Plovers*

+Grey Whales!


*Lifers!

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret
(Notice the blue heron has a fish.  Watch the progression as he eats it!)

Sudden large bulge in neck. Ha!

Black-Bellied Plover (Winter plumage)

Semipalmated Plover

Black Oystercatchers

Brown Pelican

Surf Scoter - male

Chapman School Swifts

What a crazy sight that was to see!  I didn't realize how long the whole process is to get into the chimney every night.  First a few come to check out the surroundings.  They do this off and on for a bit.  Then they finally start gathering up and every few minutes you think ok, so this is about it then, and before you know it thousands of swifts are circling the chimney.  And even then they don't go right in.  They gather in a tightly packed circle like a giant tornado, and just like a tornado, they eventually spin themselves into a tiny funnel that leads into the chimney.  They swirl around and around until it's dark and everyone made it in safely.  Some even come back out and in again, probably trying to find a good spot among all of the other birds.

• Vaux's Swifts
• Cooper's Hawk

At the beginning this Cooper's Hawk came by looking for a snack.

Tornado of Swifts

Scappoose Bay Marina

• Steller's Jay
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Western Gulls
• Mallard - male
• Great Blue Heron
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• American Crow
• Turkey Vulture 

heehee!