Commonwealth Lake Park

• Mallards
• American Coot
• American Wigeons
• Song Sparrows
• Buffleheads
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Oregon Junco
• American Robins
• Canada Geese
• Great Blue Heron
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Greater White-Fronted Geese
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• House Sparrow

Greater White-Fronted Goose

American Coot

Tualatin River Wildlife Refuge

• American Crows
• American Robins
• American Coots
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Canada Geese
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males
• Northern Shovelers
• European Starlings
• Buffleheads
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• Ruddy Ducks
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Great Blue Heron
• Cackling Geese
• Song Sparrows
• Oregon Juncos
• Western Scrub-Jays
• Mallards
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
• Brown Creeper
• American Wigeons
• Eurasian Wigeons
• Gadwalls
• Green-Winged Teals
• Bald Eagle
• Northern Pintails - males
• Western Bluebirds* - males and femalesr
• Pie-Billed Grebes
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Downy Woodpecker - male
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Black-Capped Chickadee

*Lifer!

Western Bluebird - male (paint brush mode)

Downy Woodpecker - male

Bald Eagle

Manning

Randomly in Manning, Oregon...

• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Mountain Bluebirds* - male and female
• American Kestrels

*Lifer!

Lincoln City

Josephine Young Memorial Park

• Western Gulls
• Bald Eagles
• Buffleheads - males and females
• Surf Scoters - males
• White-Winged Scoters* - male and female
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Horned Grebe
• Common Goldeneyes
• Red-Breasted Merganser - female
• Common Raven
• Spotted Towhee
• House Sparrow
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call

*Lifer!

Bald Eagles

Not a great photo, but I'm happy to get my first White-Winged Scoter - male
(If you look closely you may be able to see the tip of the white wing, in an even crappier shot, you could see more of it, but it was so blurry)

White-Winged Scoter - female!

Double-Crested Cormorant

Fogarty State Park

• Varied Thrushes - male and female
• American Robins
• Oregon Juncos
• Hermit Thursh
• American Crows
• Black Oystercatchers
• Bald Eagle
• Surf Scoter - male
• Black Scoters - males
• Pelagic Cormorants
• Hairy Woodpeckers*
• Northern Flicker
• Anna's Hummingbird - call

*Lifer!

Varied Thrush

Black Oystercatcher - pair - can you spot them? :)

Handsome Black Oystercatcher

Hairy Woodpecker working away

Boiler Bay

• Western Gulls
• Glaucous-Winged Gull
• Pelagic Cormorant
• American Crows
• Common Loon

East Devil's Lake

• Common Merganser - female
• Common Loon
• Tree Swallow
• Buffleheads - males and females
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• Lesser Scaup
• Western Gull - carrying a fish in it's mouth!
• Bald Eagle
• Canada Geese
• Rock Doves - including a rusty plumage variety 

Pacific Loon...?

Along Highway 101

• Brewer's Blackbirds - females
• Common Merganser - female
• American Kestrels
• Western Scrub-Jays
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Robins
• Brants

Beaverton Creek - Spring is in the air!

• Black-Capped Chickadee - call
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Mallards - males and females
• Great Blue Heron
• Hooded Mergansers - male and female (the female was by herself at first and when the male came over to her she went after him, seeming to scold him)
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Red-Winged Blackbirds 
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Common Mergansers - male and female (I had never seen these at Beaverton Creek before!)
• Northern Shovelers - males and females
• Wilson's Snipe - researched the call and saw it again in the same spot, so I'm sure my previous guess was correct.  Also we could hear a pair, but only saw one. 
• Green-Winged Teals - males and females
• Buffleheads - males and females
• Northern Flickers - male and female
• Oregon Junco
• European Starling - again only seeing one... so weird! 
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet 

Early Spring?!

 Red-Tailed Hawk 

Northern Flicker pair

American Robin pair

02.21

• Great Blue Herons
• Canada Geese
• Hooded Mergansers
• Green-Winged Teals
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Mallards
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Oregon Juncos 
• Buffleheads

The birds and the bees...

Great Blue Heron

Dalton Lake

At our second attempt, my mom and I found Dalton Lake.  We were supposed walk the 2 mile path around the lake, but we took a wooded trail that lead us to a cliff with an awesome view of the lake and then another that lead us to a man in a sleeping bag.  We came up about ten feet away from him and saw him leaning up against a tree, so we booked it out of there.  We continued along the original paved path, but noticing how much in the middle of nowhere we were, with no other people besides the man in the woods, we decided to leave.  Next time we'll bring a crew with us. 

• Western Scrub-Jays
• Mourning Dove
• House Sparrows
• American Robin
• Song Sparrow
• Oregon Junco
• Spotted Towhee
• Bald Eagle
• Steller's Jays
• Buffleheads
• Ring-Necked Ducks - males 
• American Wigeons
• Wood Ducks
• Pie-Billed Grebe
• Hooded Mergansers
• Anna's Hummingbird - call
• Killdeer

Beaverton Creek

After the success of Saturday morning, we decided to go back to Beaverton Creek even earlier.  We got there just before 8am.  
We saw about the same, with the addition of:

• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Mourning Doves
• Great Blue Herons - one of which was standing on a large light post in the nearby bank parking lot (photo to come)
• Red-Winged Blackbird - female, finally!

"Hello sexy lady, check out my handsome red patches!" Says this male Red-Winged Blackbird :)

Beaverton Creek

We decided to hit up Beaverton Creek early, since we've been going there in the evenings lately.  We got there at 9am and saw SO much more than usual.

• American Robins
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Mallards
• Pied-Billed Grebes
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males, as usual 
• Song Sparrows
• Wilson's Snipe (I'm only 90% sure of this.  It was pretty close, but I only saw it for  a second, as it flew off.  I'm hoping I'll see it again soon.)
• Anna's Hummingbirds
• American Crow
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Green-Winged Teals
• Buffleheads
• Northern Shovelers
• Canada Geese 
• Hooded Mergansers
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
• House Finches
• Western Scrub-Jays
• Northern Flickers
• Cooper's Hawk
• Cedar Waxwings (I was pretty excited to see them.  Last time I saw any was the beginning of August!)
• Ring-Necked Duck - female
• Oregon Junco

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

Black-Capped Chickadee

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Too bad this one is so out of focus, but I just love this classic Warbler pose!

A young male Red-Winged Blackbird

House Finches 

Look how happy this Hooded Merganser is to have found such a delectable snack!

We were so close to this Cooper's Hawk, but the angling wasn't so great.

The Ceder Waxwings finally made an appearance!

Sauvie's Island

On the way to visit family, stopped off at the Sauvie's Island bird blind to count birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count for 25 minutes.

• Double-Crested Cormorants - 5
• Western Scrub-Jays - 3
• Red-Tailed Hawk 
• American Crows - A murder (probably 20)
• American Kestrel
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call
• European Starling (I don't know how it's possible, but I only saw the single one.  So weird!)
• Mallards - 300
• American Coots - 5
• Great Blue Heron
• Canada Geese - 25
• Snow Geese - 300
• Sandhill Cranes - 7
• Oregon Junco
• Bald Eagle
• Great Egret

Snow Geese

Beaverton Creek

• Anna's Hummingbird
• House Sparrow - male
• Mourning Dove
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Bufflehead - female
• Oregon Junco
• Mallards
• Song Sparrow
• American Robins
• Great Egret
• Gadwalls
• Hooded Merganser - male
• American Coot
• Northern Shoveler
• Green-Winged Teal - male
• Black-Capped Chickadee - call

heehee Mallard butt...

Scappoose

This trip to Scappoose was supposed to be a birding trip to Columbia Botanical Gardens and Dalton Lake, which is between St. Helens and Columbia City.  We failed to find the birding areas of the garden, and instead skirted the opposite end of it which was filled with no trespassing signs.  We also happened across a really cool house for sale with an awesome view of the river and Sand Island. So we hung out there for a bit and enjoyed the view, then it was off to Walmart, because what's a trip to St. Helens without stopping at Walmart? Hahaha.... :)  

But anyway, at almost any given visit to my parent's house in Scappoose is a birding experience.  Here's what I saw there:

• Oregon Juncos
• Pine Siskins
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Spotted Towhee
• Steller's Jays
• Bald Eagle
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Song Sparrow
• American Robin
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
• Western Scrub-Jay

Pine Siskin

Beaverton Creek

02.05

• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males
• Buffleheads - males and females
• Mallards - males and females
• Northern Shovelers - males and females
• Ring-Necked Duck - male
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Oregon Juncos
• Song Sparrow
• Red-Tailed Hawk

This Great Egret came out of nowhere!

Red-Winged Blackbird - male

Red-Tailed Hawk

02.09 & 02.10

• Oregon Juncos 
• Anna's Hummingbird - male
• Hooded Mergansers - male and female
• Mallards
• Green-Winged Teal - male
• Northern Shoveler - male
• Buffleheads
• Ringed-Necked Ducks - females
• Great Blue Herons
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call
• Great Egret
• Northern Flicker
• Gadwalls
• American Robin
• Canada Geese

Northern Flicker - female

Song Sparrow

Fanno Creek Nature Trail

• Anna's Hummingbirds
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• American Crows
• Mallards
• Song Sparrow
• Hooded Mergansers - male and female
• American Robin
• Oregon Junco

Anna's Hummingbird - male

Blossoms.... of sorts...or...something... :)

One of those fuzzy caterpillars everyone loves. 

Whitaker Ponds Nature Park

Once again, one birding trip in a day is not enough, especially if one of us gets a lifer in the first one.  Gotta keep that momentum going! 

• American Crows
• Bald Eagle
• Oregon Juncos
• Great Egrets 
• Canada Geese
• Song Sparrows
• Belted Kingfisher - female
• European Starlings
• American Wigeons
• Mallards
• Ring-Necked Ducks - males and females
• Green-Winged Teals - male and female
• Eurasian Wigeon* - male
• Great Blue Herons
• Gadwalls - males and females
• Hooded Mergansers - male and female
• Downy Woodpeckers - male and female
• American Robins
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Anna's Hummingbirds - call
• Western Scrub-Jay
• House Finches
• Pine Siskins
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Cinnamon Teals - male and female
• Double-Crested Cormorant

*Lifer!

Great Egret
Never seen at Whitaker Pounds by either of us, and we saw four!

Sharpening it's beak.

Quick, let's get outta here!

Bald Eagle and Great Egret in passing.

It was a strange day at the pond.

Downy Woodpecker - male

Pine Siskin

House Finch pair

Downy Woodpecker - female

American Robin