3 Sisters

Indian Ford Camp 9.05.12 - 9.06.12

• Common Ravens
• Turkey Vultures
• Mountain Bluebirds
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Brown Creeper
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Mountain Chickadees*
• Northern Flicker
• Chipping Sparrows
• Rock Wren
• Oregon Junco
• Green-Tailed Towhee*

*Lifers - right at the campsite!

Mountain Chickadee

Head of Metoilius River and along the river
9.05.12

• Steller's Jays
• Clark's Nutcracker*
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler - juv
• Williamson's Sapsucker* - female
• Vaux's Swifts
• Mallards
• Song Sparrow
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Pacific-Slope Flycatcher*
• Belted Kingfisher - female
• White-Headed Woodpeckers*
• White-Breasted Nuthatches
• Pygmy Nuthatches*

Squeeze time!!!  A kid sprinkled hamster food all over the path.  The chipmunks were going nuts!

Steller's Jay - mouth open possibly to cool down.

Steller's Jays everywhere.

Pacific-Slope Flycatcher in a nearby tree.

A Clark's Nutcracker flies in from the other direction.

Clark's Nutcracker joins the chipmunk feast.

Hops around a bit and is off again.

White-Headed Woodpecker - male

White-Headed Woodpecker - female

 Calliope Crossing 9.06.12

• White-Breasted Nuthatches
• Common Ravens
• Mountain Chickadees
• Orange-Crowned Warblers
• Downy Woodpecker
• Clark's Nutcrackers
• Olive-Sided Flycatcher
• Pacific-Slope Flycatcher
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Brewer's Sparrow*
• Northern Goshawk*

*Lifers!

This little tree frog entertained me for quite some time.  So cute!

the crossing.

The water there was so clear.

Luckily there was a lot of other wildlife there, because the birds were few and far between.  At least new birds, anyway.

More birds at my new house

The list of birds continues to grow and astound!  Heehee...

It's funny because we see the less common versions of common birds here.... for example;

Instead of seeing Black-Capped Chickadees all the time, it's Chestnut-Backed Chickadees.  We see White and Golden-Crowned Sparrows instead of House or Song Sparrows, Purple instead of House Finches.  You're more likely to see a Steller's Jay than a Western Scrub-Jays, and Varied Thrush and Spotted Towhee as often as Robins, and so on.  It's pretty cool! :)

• Turkey Vulture
• California Quail - right in the front yard, through the window!  
• Purple Finches - females
• Pine Siskins
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - at first just the female, but finally, this morning one male.
• American Goldfinch
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Common Ravens
• Hairy Woodpecker

Steller's Jays

American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin

Scappoose

This trip to Scappoose was supposed to be a birding trip to Columbia Botanical Gardens and Dalton Lake, which is between St. Helens and Columbia City.  We failed to find the birding areas of the garden, and instead skirted the opposite end of it which was filled with no trespassing signs.  We also happened across a really cool house for sale with an awesome view of the river and Sand Island. So we hung out there for a bit and enjoyed the view, then it was off to Walmart, because what's a trip to St. Helens without stopping at Walmart? Hahaha.... :)  

But anyway, at almost any given visit to my parent's house in Scappoose is a birding experience.  Here's what I saw there:

• Oregon Juncos
• Pine Siskins
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Spotted Towhee
• Steller's Jays
• Bald Eagle
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Song Sparrow
• American Robin
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
• Western Scrub-Jay

Pine Siskin

Commonwealth Lake Park

• Domesticated Waterfowl
• American Wigeons
• Bufflehead - male
• American Coots
• Mallards
• Great Blue Heron
• Western Gull
• Song Sparrow
• Oregon Junco
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Varied Thrush*
• Steller's Jay
• European Starlings
• Brewer's Blackbird
• American Robins
• House Sparrow
• Canada Geese
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• Green Heron
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call
• Common Merganser - female

*Lifer!

American Coot

Double-Crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Scappoose Bay Marina

• Steller's Jay
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Western Gulls
• Mallard - male
• Great Blue Heron
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• American Crow
• Turkey Vulture 

heehee!

Audubon Society

• Steller's Jay
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Bushtits
• Oregon Juncos

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

This trip was more to test out my father-in-law's fancy digital SLR with the telephoto lens attached, but then again, I don't really leave the house and NOT bird, especially while in nature.  :)

• American Robins
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Steller's Jay
• Red-Tailed Hawk

American Robin

"Have you ever observed a humming-bird moving about in an aerial dance among the flowers - a living prismatic gem.... it is a creature of such fairy-like loveliness as to mock all description."     ~W.H. Hudson, Green Mansions

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Red-Tailed Hawk

Rough-Skinned Newt

Garter Snake

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

• Lesser Goldfinch
• Northern Flicker
• European Starlings
• Western Scrub-Jay
• American Robin
• Mourning Doves
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Steller's Jay
• Cedar Waxwing
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch*
• Pied-Billed Grebe

*Lifer!

Rhododendron Garden

• Canada Geese
• Mallards - male and female
• Wood Ducks male and female
• Steller's Jay
• Hooded Merganser*
• Green Heron*
• Great Blue Heron
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - male and female
• Belted Kingfisher - female
• Tree Swallows
• Song Sparrows
• Northern Flicker
• Cedar Waxwing
• American Robin
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Domesticated Waterfowl

*Lifer! 

Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

Domesticated Goose

Jewell Meadows

The same day as the Fort Stevens/ South Jetty trip, on the way home.

• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Steller's Jay
• Ruffed Grouse* (That was a strange sight, like nothing I had ever seen before. Just standing on the side of the road.  I was a little baffled by it.  I exclaimed, "Did you see that?! Looked like a chicken... yet not...")
• Band-Tailed Pigeons* -male and female
• Tree Swallows
• Turkey Vulture 

*Lifer

Elk at Jewell Meadows

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

• Spotted Towhee
• Song Sparrow
• Barn Swallows
• Violet-Green Swallows
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Northern Flicker
• American Robin
• Western Tanager
• Bushtits
• Brown Creeper
• Steller's Jay*
• Western Scrub-Jay*
• Bald Eagle
• Cooper's Hawk
• Black-Headed Grosbeak
• Mallard - female
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Downy Woodpecker
• Oregon Junco
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Bewick's Wren
• Brewer's Blackbird* - male and female

*Lifer