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

Jackson Bottom

10.29.12

• Steller's Jay
• Cackling Geese
• Oregon Juncos
• Pine Siskins
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Mourning Dove
• House Finch
• Western Scrub-Jay
• American Robin
• Spotted Towhees
• Song Sparrows
• Bewick's Wrens
• Mallards
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Great Blue Herons
• Canada Geese
• Northern Harrier 
• Great Egret
• Green-Winged Teals
• Northern Shovelers 

I'm impressed by how much yellow this Pine Siskin has, and surprisingly, it was like that one both sides!

Female House Finch

Detailed and dead

The best example of the difference between Canada Geese (Large) and Cackling Geese (Smaller).  Believe me, when they're not standing next to each other, it's extremely difficult to tell the difference. :)

Halloween-y.  More dead stuff.  I think these were purposely burned. 

Geese in a V.

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

A disruption by a raptor upset a lot of water fowl.

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

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...

Furnhill Wetlands Nature Trail

• American Coots
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• Various Gulls
• Western Gulls
• European Starlings
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males and females
• Mallards
• Canada Geese
• Northern Shovelers - male and female
• Common Mergansers
• Cackling Geese
• American Kestrels - male and female
• Mourning Dove
• Ruddy Ducks* - male and female
• Buffleheads
• Northern Pintails - male and female
• Green-Winged Teal - male and female
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Oregon Junco
• Gadwall
• Domesticated water fowl
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Bald Eagles
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Harrier
• Song Sparrow
• Ring-Necked Duck - male
• Bushtits
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• American Robin
• Northern Flicker
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Purple Finches - male and female
• Horned Grebe
• Glaucous-Winged Gull - juvenile

*Lifer!

Bald Eagle pair

Canada Geese

Juvenile Gull

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

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