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

Fern Ridge / Meadowlark Prairie / Finley Refuge

An awesome trip through and through, although the weather couldn't have been more bi-polar.  I always imagine Spring birding to be this very wonderful, picture-esq event.  In reality, Winter birding is much more tolerable.  We experienced frigid temperatures, down pours, sunshine, hail, strange dark/bright skies; all at once at times.  We even saw a fair share of "sucker holes", this is what my cousin calls it when the sky looks stormy and there is one chunk of clear, sunny skies, trying to trick you into thinking nice weather is coming.  Not the case at all.  Despite the weather, the birding was quite excellent. 


Furn Ridge

• Turkey Vultures - my first of the season!
• American Kestrels
• Acorn Woodpecker*
• Northern Flickers
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• Canada Geese
• Tree Swallows
• Violet-Green Swallows
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler
• Song Sparrows
• Mallards
• American Coots
• Marsh Wren
• Ringed-Necked Ducks
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• American White Pelicans*
• Canvasback - male
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Bufflehead - male
• Great Blue Heron
• Cackling Geese
• Savannah Sparrow 

*Lifers!

American White Pelicans

Crazy skies

Meadowlark Prairie 

• Green-Winged Teals
• Cinnamon Teal
• Northern Shovelers
• Northern Pintails
• Western Bluebirds
• Northern Harriers
• Great Blue Heron

Finley Refuge

• American Robins
• Northern Flickers
• Tree Swallows
• Violet-Green Swallows
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Harriers - male and females
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler - male
• Western Meadowlarks
• Common Yellowthroat - male
• Spotted Towhee
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Green-Winged Teals
• Mallards
• Red-Winged Blackbird - male
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• Osprey - my first of the season!
• Cinnamon Teals
• Song Sparrow
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Turkey Vultures
• Belted Kingfisher
• Bewick's Wren
• Greater Yellowlegs
• American Wigeons
• European Starlings
• Sanderlings
• Savannah Sparrows
• Red-Tailed Hawks

Western Meadowlark - male

Common Yellowthroat - male

Osprey

One last drench followed by large hail as we head back to the car.

Sauvie's Island

One of the best days ever... so sunny and nice out, got the bird I was looking for plus more and it was just a low key, spur of the moment trip with my newest birding buddy, my husband. The instructee has become the instructor!

• Sandhill Cranes
• Cackling Geese
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Song Sparrows
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Coots
• Northern Harrier
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
• White-Crowned Sparrows
• Harris's Sparrow* - counting it as a lifer now because last time he alluded me, and appeared only in photographs.  Jerk... (And btw.. comparing the two photos,doesn't it look like 2 different birds?  I thought there was just the one Harris's... ?)
• Spotted Towhees
• Fox Sparrow
• American Crows
• Golden Eagle - juvenile (it was in the exact same spot my mom, cousin and I saw it almost exactly a year ago, on my first birding trip to Sauvie's Island - a ground breaking day in birding for me - check out the post :))
• Bald Eagle - and juvenile
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Western Scrub-Jays
• California Quails - at least 8 of them!  The first time I've seen them since I started birding.  The first time I saw them was in New Zealand, of all places to see a California Quail.
• Great Blue Herons
• American Robins
• Northern Shovelers - I was a little excited to see them because I had just mentioned  I hadn't seen them in quite a while.
• Northern Flicker
• Belted Kingfisher - male
• Dusky Canada Geese
• Canada Geese
• Greater Yellowlegs*
• Savannah Sparrows
• Killdeer(s) - I hate that, is the plural of killdeer killdeer or killdeers?  I would like to indicate when I've seen more than one.

*Lifers!

A flurry of Golden-Crowned Sparrows

Harris's Sparrow - compare it to a week ago. Different bird?

A sweet, brave White-Crowned Sparrow

California Quail

Sandhill Cranes and if you look closely, three Greater Yellowlegs!

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