Showing posts with label American Wigeon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Wigeon. Show all posts

Monday, December 10, 2012

Commonwealth Lake Park

11.26.12
My grandma was in town and Commonwealth Park was the perfect place to spend time together, along with my dad, and see lots of cool birds. :D


The start of Commonwealth Lake Park

American Wigeon

American Coot (Cracks me up to see them out of the water!)

Cackling Geese

A Golden-Crowned Sparrow trying to blend into the rocks, it seems.

Common Merganser - female
Lots and lots of American Wigeons! Female left, male right.

Odd domesticated goose of sorts.

Greater White-Fronted Geese

Great Blue Heron coming in for the landing.

I thought this was cute.  I assume it's another domesticated duck (Commonwealth has several that are always there) buddied up with a Mallard.  Such a sweet, unlikely couple! 

Great Egret



When I first saw this grey-ish and white little bird, I almost panicked.  I didn't recognize it at all...


Then I saw the bit of yellow near the armpit (scientific term ;) and rump.  Female Yellow-Rumped Warbler, but what still got me was the total lack of yellow on the throat, which lead me to cross reference with whatbird.com and I concluded it must be a Myrtle's Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

Other birds we saw:

  • Red-Tailed Hawks
  • House Sparrows
  • Buffleheads
  • Double-Crested Cormorants
  • Pied-Billed Grebe
  • Hooded Mergansers
  • Gadwalls
  • Northern Flicker
  • Bushtits
  • Western Scrub-Jay
  • House Finches - including an orange variant!  I've never seen that before!
  • American Goldfinches




Sunday, January 8, 2012

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge


  • American Wigeons - male and female
  • American Coots
  • Northern Pintails - male and female
  • Ring-Necked Ducks
  • Red-Winged Blackbird - call
  • Buffleheads - male and female
  • Great Blue Herons (one with a bullfrog hanging out of it's mouth!)
  • Northern Shovelers
  • Hooded Mergansers - male and female
  • Mallards - male and female
  • Cackling Geese 
  • Canada Geese
  • Golden-Crowned Sparrows
  • Red-Tailed Hawks
  • Tundra Swans
  • Bald Eagles
  • Song Sparrows
  • Northern Harriers
  • Black-Capped Chickadees
  • Ruddy Ducks
  • Gadwalls
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch
  • Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
  • American Robin
  • Pie-Billed Grebes
  • Spotted Towhees
  • Marsh Wren
  • American Bittern
  • Double-Crested Cormorant 
+Nutria
+Raccons
+Coyote




The extremely elusive American Bittern

Young Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagles - drying wings

Tundra Swans
Pouncing coyote!  No kill this time, but , man what a sight...

Monday, December 19, 2011

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







Monday, December 12, 2011

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






Sunday, October 2, 2011

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