Powell Butte

My first visit at Powell Butte.  The main entrance was closed for maintenance, I believe, but once we found the other entrance, it was quite the place.

• Spotted Towhee
• American Robins
• Song Sparrows
• Oregon Junco
• Cedar Waxwing
• Northern Flicker
• Western Scrub-Jay - young one
• Savannah Sparrow
• Violet-Green Swallow
• Lazuli Buntings
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Common Yellowthroat
• Vaux's Swifts
• Barn Swallow
• American Kestrel
• Olive-Sided Flycatcher*
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
• Brown Creeper
• Steller's Jay
• Red-Breasted Sapsucker
• Red-Tailed Hawks

*Lifer!

Red-Tailed Hawk

Backyard Birds - Manning

Quite possibly the last Manning update before we move again.

Red-Breasted Sapsucker in his favorite tree.

Crazy downpours.

Check. 

Me.

Out.
A little ham of a White-Crowned Sparrow, loving every minute of getting his picture taken! :)

Cute American Goldfinch couple.

Northern Harrier - probably attacked by crows.  There's a lot of squabbles between the crows and raptors. 

Red-Tailed Hawk

Sauvie-Scapp-St.H-Astoria

A quick visit to a bunch of places to visit all our dads on father's day :D

• American Kestrel
• Anna's Hummingbird - female
• Rofous Hummingbird - female
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• Barn Swallows
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Turkey Vulture
• Swainson's Thrushes
• American Robin
• House Sparrows
• Great Blue Herons
• Canada Geese
• Western Gulls
• Mallards
• Cedar Waxwings
• Common Raven
• Steller's Jays - having a grand ol' time at the campsite
• Song Sparrows
• Downy Woodpecker - female
• American Goldfinch - male 

Cooper Mountain

Another jaunt through Cooper Mountain, partly because it's close to husband's work, partly in hopes of seeing a Black-throated Gray Warbler.

• White-Crowned Sparrrows (I guarantee that'll be the first bird you see there every time!)
• Barn Swallows
• American Crows
• American Goldfinches
• Violet-Green Swallows
• Savannah Sparrow
• Rofous Hummingbird
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Band-Tailed Pigeon
• Song Sparrow
• Spotted Towhees
• Swainson's Thrush (and, boy we worked hard looking for that one!)
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Robin
• Cedar Waxwings
• Lazuli Bunting

Cooper Mountain

5.31.12
We specifically went back to Cooper Mountain, (where the Black-Throated Gray Warblers had been seen about a month ago) on the 31st of May, because that is the last day of Spring, according to my metro area bird check list.  So, I wanted to get more Spring birds checked off the list before Summer started.  Well, I think we were too late for the warblers, but we saw some good stuff, and Komito even got a lifer.

• Anna's Hummingbirds
• White-Crowned Sparrows
• American Crows
• Cedar Waxwings
• Band-Tailed Pigeons
• House Finch
• Spotted Towhees
• Tree Swallows
• Northern Flicker
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Western Bluebirds
• Black-Capped Chickadee 
• Oregon Juncos
• Lazuli Bunting - male - it's so funny how you'll never see a bird, but the moment after it becomes a lifer, you see it all the time!
• American Robin
• Orange-Crowned Warbler
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Purple Finches
• Savannah Sparrows
• Barn Swallows
• American Goldfinches
• Lesser "Green-Backed" Goldfinches

Western Bluebirds - female and male

Female Western Bluebird

Hanging out near the bluebirds, Lazuli Bunting - male.

Crazy-eyed White-Crowned Sparrow

Lesser "Green-Backed" Goldfinch and House Finch

Memorial Weekend: part 2.5 back to Furnhill

Furnhill Wetlands 5.28.12 continued.
Birder's code is strict but fair.  We had seen a new species that my cousin, Rush, had not.  We had to get him that bird.  My count was 63 species for the long weekend.  Was going to another location, particularly one I had already recently visited, going to add 7 more?  It didn't really matter and I was down for the trip either way.

• Tree Swallows
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• Purple Finches
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• American Coot
• Great Blue Herons
• Mallards
• American goldfinches
• Brown-Headed Cowbirds
• Gadwalls
• American Robin
• Song Sparrows - I kid you not, one was singing, "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" in a raspy, Chestnut-Backed Chickadee voice.  We were convinced it was a chickadee, until it popped out of the tree, continuing to sing.
• Common Yellowthroats
• Canada Geese
• Bald Eagle
• Turkey Vultures
• Barn Swallows
• Cedar Waxwings - By now just about everything we had seen so far, we had just seen at Jackson Bottom.  We were getting worried. Finally, we got to the mucky, swampy grass area where we saw the Virginia Rail.  The entire area had been weed-wacked!  We tried playing the mating call to see if it was still hiding somewhere.  Nothing.  I suggested we continue, because it could still be somewhere else.  An older lady was coming down the path, my cousin made an off hand comment that she looked like she knew her Virginia Rails.  We asked what she has seen and she responded with V.R.s!  She told us where to find it up ahead.
• Virginia Rail - Now that we had seen it, we started to see a lot of different things we hadn't seen in a long time.
• Marsh Wren
• Western Grebe
• Killdeer
• Northern Shovelers
• Greater White-Fronted Geese
• Northern Pintails
• European Starlings
• Green Heron - Komito was spotting crazy birds all over the place that Rush and I didn't see right away.  One being California Quails, that I completely missed :(
• Yellow Warblers
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• Wilson's Warbler - male
• Hutton's Vireo*
• Savannah Sparrow
• Lazuli Bunting - male
• Anna's Hummingbird - female
• Lesser Goldfinches
• Cinnamon Teal - male
• Mourning Dove

The sun was setting and we managed to spend the entire day birding.  That's my kind of holiday weekend!  While I was in the restroom, the boys saw a Belted Kingfisher, but that's ok, because my Memorial Weekend Grand Total: 70 species! I just barely made my goal! 
*Lifer!

Female Mallard being chased by domestic duck (not pictured).

Geese family with "teens"

Virginia Rail

handsome domestic duck

Bullfrog (for sure this time!)

Tree Swallow - ham for the camera

Cedar Waxwing

Memorial Weekend: part 2 - Jackson Bottom

Jackson Bottom
5.28.12
Me, Rush, Komito 


Initially the plan was to go to Ridgefield to try to see the Blue-Winged Teal that has been spotted there before, plus whatever other cool things happen to show up, Ridgefield never disappoints, however, Rush popped on OBOL before leaving and found that several of the teals have been seen at Jackson Bottom, and so it was, we went where the teals went.

• American Robins
• House Finch
• Cedar Waxwings
• Yellow Warblers
• Purple Finches
• Bushtit
• American Goldfinches
• Spotted Towhee
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Warbling Vireo*
• Canada Geese
• Tree Swallows
• Mourning Dove
• Ring-Necked Pheasants - that was a surprise!
• Northern Flicker - male
• Great Blue Herons
• Mallards + 8 ducklings
• Northern Shovelers
• Cinnamon Teals
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Pine Siskins
• Turkey Vultures
• House Sparrow
• Barn Swallows
• Killdeer(s)
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Yellow-Headed Blackbird - male
• Gadwalls
• Cliff Swallow
• American Crow
• Hooded Mergansers - female + 6 young 
• Common Yellowthroats - male and female
• Ospreys 
• Western Wood-pewee
• Song Sparrows
• American Bitterns - what a treat!
• Savannah Sparrows
• Blue-Winged Teals* -yay!
• Marsh Wrens
• Black-Headed Grosbeak - male
• Northern Pintail

*Lifers!!

Well, it was a great trip, but we couldn't stop there.  After a quick lunch, it was time to get Rush that Virginia Rail we saw Saturday.

Cedar Waxwings

Mourning Dove

Male Northern Flicker

tiny, tiny mushroom

Male and Female Tree Swallow

Mallard and ducklings traveling through the mucky-muck.

American Bittern

Female Common Yellowthroat

Memorial Weekend: part 1.5 Furnhill Wetlands

For Memorial weekend I set a personal goal of 70 species, not positive on the amount of birding that was actually going to happen, but hoping for a lot.


I kicked off the weekend with a solo trip to "Warbler Woods" on Friday 5.25.12 (previous post), and continued Saturday evening at Furnhill Wetlands.  
It was sorta an impromptu stop to see if the flooding was down, with my husband (who I've been calling Komito because of his relentless search for lifers, declaring each one and then moving on).
When we got there, I was surprised to see the water level was lower than ever.  We only had one pair of binocs, so we scanned the area near the parking lot and were planning to leave after that.  Except, I spotted a Green Heron, a lifer for Komito, so we had to get closer.  From there we kept seeing more and more, and before we knew it, we were well into a full-fledged birding trip.

• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Canada Geese
• Mallards
• Green Heron
• American Coot
• Tree Swallows
• Brown-Headed Cowbirds
• Barn Swallows
• Violet-Green Swallow
• Purple Finches
• American Robins
• Song Sparrows
• Great Blue Herons
• Cliff Swallow
• Common Yellowthroats - males
• Bewick's Wren - by call (I think that thing was toying with us.  It was just on the other side of some tall grass, hopping around, so very close to us, for forever, never making an appearance.)
• American Crow
• European Starlings
• Wood Ducks
• Virginia Rail* - I couldn't believe it!  There was a mucky area on the other side of a trail, and I got really close to it, thinking there has to be something in here.  Well, there was something in the grass right next to me, running from me, making a loud, single note cry.  I saw it, briefly between tufts of grass, but couldn't tell what it was, I could only see that it was roundish.  We waited and waited for it to come out of the bushes and there it was, a Virginia Rail! I never expected that!
• Mourning Dove
• Cedar Waxwings
• Savannah Sparrow
• American Goldfinches
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• Killdeer(s)

Total for the weekend so far:  41 Species

*Lifer!