Ridgefield - drive loop

As almost always, once two or more people in a group get a lifer, there's no stopping them.  So we visited Ridgefield on the way back, thankful to be able to sit and bird at that point.  :) 

Red-Breasted Sapsucker

Albino Nutria.... very strange.

Song Sparrow

Coyote 

A beautiful sight to round off the day.

My beloved Great Horned Owl. :)

Black Phoebe 

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

The infamous Pied-Billed Grebe.

A wave good bye from our friend, the Red-Winged Blackbird.

Ridgefield - Carty Unit and Drive Loop

9.25.12

Carty Unit:

• American Kestrel - male
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Cedar Waxwings
• Canada Geese
• Bushtits
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows - they sure weren't gone long.  I want to say it's been 4 months since last time I saw one.
• Mallards
• Killdeer - lots!
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Steller's Jays
• Song Sparrows
• Spotted Towhee
• Great Egrets - 3
• American Robin
• American Crow
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Turkey Vultures
• Northern Flicker - male
• White-Crowned Sparrows
• Red-Breasted Nuthatches
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Red-Breasted Sapsuckers
• Sandhill Crane - saw one, heard many
• Lesser Yellowlegs

Spotted Towhee

Drive Loop:

• Belted Kingfisher
• Pied-Billed Grebes
• Wood Ducks
• Great Horned Owl!
• Brown Creeper
• Northern Harrier
• American Coots
• Savannah Sparrow

Male Belted Kingfisher

Pied-Billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron

Great Horned Owl

Wood Ducks

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

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

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!

Siletz Spit/ Canon Beach

An attempt to catch the Snowy Owl at Siletz Spit.  As we were closing in on the location that it has been reportedly spotted about two weeks before and two weeks before that, a local guy came out of his house, seeing us all geared up to ask if we were birding.  He informed us the Snowy Owl left last week.  We were a bit saddened by that, but the trip was well worth it anyway.  


Since it was a long trip, I'm splitting up what we saw as we traveled.  


Highway 26 Westbound:

• Red-Tailed Hawk
• American Crows
• Mourning Dove
• American Kestrel 
• Northern Flicker
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Mallards
• Buffleheads
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• European Starlings

Canon Beach:

My goodness that place was dead, as far as birds are concerned.  Oh.. actually that would be quite literally too.  We saw less than 10 Western Gulls, no birds on Haystack Rock, that is except 2 dead Cormorants :(.  Although, on the other side of the rock were several male and female Black Scoters and near the parking lot, a few House Sparrows.

Black Scoters - males and female

Western Gull.... I'm pretty sure.  Gulls are a bit difficult to I.D. sometimes. 

Along Highway 101 Southbound:

• Bufflehead
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Horned Grebe
• Red-Winged Black Bird
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Less Scaups - males
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• Common Loon*
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• "Dusky" Canada Geese*
• Common Raven
• Great Egrets
• Great Blue Heron
• American Robin
• Brewer's Blackbirds

Siletz Spit:

• American Crows
• Kingfisher - male
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Buffleheads
• Spotted Towhees
• Northern Pintails
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Song Sparrow
• American Robins
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Bewick's Wren
• Mallards
• Chest-Nut Backed Chickadee
• Northern Flicker
• Gadwalls
• American Coots
• Varied Thrush - male
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Surf Scoters
• Red-Breasted Mergansers
• Common Loon
• European Starlings
• Common Goldeneyes - males and females
• Barrow's Goldeneyes* - males and females
• Semi-Palmated Plovers

+Rabbits

+Harbor Seal

*Lifers!!

Surf Scoter - juvenile male

Red-Breasted Merganser - male

Semipalmated Plovers

Common Loon

Smith and Bybee Lakes Wildlife Area

We were so excited about the two uncommon lifers, that we took it as an omen to keep birding.  We headed over to Smith and Bybee, a place I hadn't been since my first birding trip, just over a year ago.

• Oregon Juncos
• Rock Doves
• Canada Geese
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Band-Tailed Pigeon
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Belted Kingfisher - call
• American Robin
• Bald Eagles
• Brown Creepers
• Bushtits
• American Crows
• Northern Shovelers - males and females
• Hooded Merganser - female
• Gadwalls 
• Bewick's Wren
• Hermit Thrush
• Spotted Towhee
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• American Wigeon
• Ruddy Ducks - male and female
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Bank Swallows*
• Canvasbacks*
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

*More lifers!

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