Finley Wildlife Refuge

This is my second trip to Finley, I love this place, it has everything.  Bodies of water, fields, lots of different kinds of trees, interpretive center (only open on weekends though), driving loops, walking loops AND a barn with an owl in it!  Of course, I didn't see it.  You have to be an owl person to see owls very often and I'm just not an owl person.  I don't even know what it is that makes an owl person. 

Pretty scenery 

A huge swarm of Red-Winged Blackbirds and European Starlings get scared off by a raptor (to left).

They switched directions...

and headed right toward us.  It was pretty surreal.

A Lewis's Woodpecker. A lifer for me!

Northern Flicker.  There were tons of them, I don't think I've ever seen so many in one day.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Here owl, owl, owl....

More pretty scenery 

A board walk through the woods.

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Wondering what I'm doing.

Acorn Woodpecker

Really weird; acorns stored in the holes of the tree.

Lots of Acorn Woodpeckers! (3 here)

At one point we ended up back on a road and saw this in someone's yard.  Heeheehee so weird!

Western Meadowlark

American Kestrel 

Long-Billed Dowitchers

Black Phoebe 

Marsh Wren to left, Savannah Sparrow on right

I just love these, I wanted to take some with me..

Red-Tailed Hawks

One more stalk of the barn, as the sun was going down.  No owls.

An American Kestrel showed up instead.

 Other birds seen:

• Golden and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
• Fox Sparrow
• Northern Harriers
• Turkey Vulture
• Hutton's Vireo 
• Pied-Billed Grebes
• Great Blue Herons
• Red-Breasted Sapsucker
• Steller's Jay
• Killdeer
• Mallards
• American Robins
• Mourning Doves
• American Goldfinch
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Spotted Towhee
• Oregon Junco

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

Fanno Creek / Knoll Wetlands

• Mallards
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Song Sparrows
• Northern Shoveler - female
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Western Scrub-Jay
• American Goldfinch
• American Crows
• Cooper's Hawk
• European Starling
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
• Northern Flickers
• Spotted Towhee
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males and females
• Canada Geese
• Green-Winged Teals
• American Wigeons
• Killdeers
• Gadwalls
• Bewick's Wren

Cooper's Hawk

Killdeer

Red-Winged Blackbird - female
(pretty sure... we had a hell of a time with it.  I think it was reddish from the setting sun.  So weird.)

Astoria

A lovely day at Astoria yesterday.

• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Robins
• American Crows
• Great Egrets
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• American Wigeons
• European Starlings
• Steller's Jays
• Mourning Dove
• Brewer's Blackbird
• American Coots
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Gadwalls

We expected South Jetty to be a pretty big attraction, as it usually is, but let me tell you... I don't think anyone could ever see less in such a prime location.  I don't know where the birds were yesterday morning, but they weren't at the jetty.

• American Crows
• Western Gulls - and I'm not even talking, "oh it was just a bunch of gulls"... it was more like, "oh my goodness, there's a gull!!!"
• Song Sparrows
• Great Blue Heron

South Jetty
cloudy and foggy with a slice of sunshine

Not only were the pickings slim, we really worked to get to the beach.  The tide was high, with a stream blocking the beach, so we walked into the field, through tall grass and soggy ground to jump over the stream once it was narrow enough. Then we struggled our way through taller grass, sand, logs and bushes, over the sand dune to see.... absolutely nothing on the beach, in the water or in the sky.  Oh wait, there were more crows in the far distance!  It was kind of weird.

Next we tried the main beach access and the wooded trails near by.

• Sanderlings* 
• Bald Eagles
• Pacific Wren* - a division of Winter Wren
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadees
• American Robins
• Varied Thrushes
• Northern Flickers
• Downy Woodpecker
• Common Ravens

*Lifers!

The Sanderlings suddenly took off out of sight

the culprit
(take a look at those beefy legs!)

then he just leaves

a juvenile Bald Eagle follows

Northern Flicker  (25% black and white photo)

deer scratchings

At one point the walking trail goes through a tunnel, beneath a road, and right next to that was a dead Western Grebe.  We were speculating how it died. I noticed there was a trail of feathers leading from the road, down the embankment to where it lied and I thought it could have flown in front of a car and bounced off the windshield (something my cousin and I unfortunately witnessed with a crow and a car ahead of us one trip).  My cousin pointed out that grebes can't walk and would have no reason to be near woods (especially flying low to the ground), making it all the more mysterious.  

Next we stopped at a sewage plant of sorts, which surprisingly, was recommended in a birding pamphlet.  It also borders the Columbia River.

• Greater Scaup* - we stood there with our books forever, realizing Lesser Scaup and Greater Scaup are soooo similar that it's ridiculous. 
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Common Loon
• Buffleheads
• Western Grebes
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Ruddy Ducks

Greater Scaup

You never know what you're going to come across.  A part of me REALLY wanted to take a peak, but I think there may have been someone inside.

And there was waterfowl in there...
:(

Lastly we checked out the Eagle Sanctuary off Highway 30 that several people have recommended to me.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was almost dark, so there wasn't a whole lot out there, but I have a feeling this place has a lot of potential early in the day.

• Mallards
• Green-Winged Teals
• Great Blue Heron
• Tundra Swans

Sapsucker holes

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