Backyard - March 10th

A great birding morning outside my window.

Female Wood Duck

Male Wood Duck - Finally got to see a Wood Duck in a tree!  T'was a good morning! 

Yellow-Rumped Warbler - possibly a Myrtle's, possibly too early to tell.

Great Blue Heron

I also saw:
White-Breasted Nuthatch - only have seen that here two other times before.

On the feeders:
Downy Woodpeckers
Red-Breasted Nuthatches
Black-Capped Chickadees
Red-Winged Blackbird
Song Sparrows
House Sparrows
Purple Finches

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

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Christmas Bird Count with the Audubon Society of Portland.

• American Crow
• Downy Woodpecker
• Canada Geese
• Mallards - male and female
• Northern Pintails
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• Cackling Geese
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• American Wigeons
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• Anna's Hummingbirds
• White-Breasted Nuthatch - call
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• House Finch 
• Oregon Junco - call
• Song Sparrows
• Great Blue Heron
• Cooper's Hawk
• Bufflehead - female
• Wood Ducks - male and female
• Northern Shovelers
• Gadwall
• Green-Winged Teal
• Brown Creeper
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Varied Thrush
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Northern Flicker
• Common Merganser
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Belted Kingfisher
• Lesser Goldfinch
• American Goldfinch

Downy Woodpecker

frosty spiderwebs 

Whitaker Ponds Nature Park

A lot of times birding at just one location doesn't cut it, so we'll head to another location.  Like we did on this day!

• Canada Geese
• Mallards - male and female
• Wood Ducks - male and female
• Belted Kingfisher - female
• House Finches - male and female
• Tree Swallows
• Cedar Waxwing
• American Goldfinches - male and female
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Turkey Vulture

Weeping Willow Tree

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

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

An added bonus to this trip:  we took a wrong turn and saw a garage sale where a retired man was selling bird houses he makes with licence plate roofs.  Very cool!

• Barn Swallows
• Tree Swallows
• Great Blue Heron
• American Goldfinch
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• Mallards - male and female
• Yellow-Headed Blackbird* - male
• Wood Duck
• American Robin
• Song Sparrow (feeding a juvenile Brown-Headed Cowbird that was larger than the sparrow.  The sparrow was frantically jumping/flying back and forth between food sources and the large chick, the chick seeming to have an endless appetite and the poor song sparrow quickly running out of steam.  It was quite the sight to see.  Cowbirds are infamous for dumping their eggs in other species' nests, but to see the strain it caused on the mother bird was pretty amazing and a little sad.)
• Wilson's Snipe*
• Gadwalls
• Common Yellowthroat
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Bewick's Wren
• American Bittern 
• Cedar Waxwing
• Brown-Headed Cowbird
• Red-Breasted Sapsucker*
• American Coot and chicks (I was first to see the little, brightly colored red chicks, just for a second.  I knew my cousin was going to think I was crazy, but I had to admit I saw some sort of little red bird.  As I expected, an expression of disbelief spread across his face.  Soon they made another appearance, this time with the parents and it all made sense.  It was the first time either of us had seen a Coot chick.  We had no idea they turn from red to black!)
• Brewer's Blackbird
• Northern Flicker (Rolling around, dust bathing.  Another odd sight of the day.)
• Cinnamon Teal*
• American Kestrel
• Turkey Volture
• Red-Tailed Hawk

*Lifer

Great Blue Heron

We also saw Red Painted Turtles

Walking trail portion of the refuge.

Beaverton Creek Nature Trail

Another stroll through Beaverton Creek.  Nothing ground breaking, but I like to keep track of what I see each visit.

6.21.11

• Cedar Waxwing
• Mallards
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - male and female
• American Robin
• Barn Swallows
• Tree Swallows
• Mourning Doves
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Bushtits

6.22.11

• Mallards
• Wood Duck
• Killdeer

Fanno Creek Nature Trail

We were surprised at the amount we saw here, being that it's a short stretch near a highway.

• Oregon Junco*
• Tree Swallow
• Red-Winged Blackbird
• Song Sparrow
• Mallards w/ ducklings
• Canada Geese
• Cooper's Hawk*
• Western Tanager*
• Spotted Towhee
• Northern Flicker
• American Goldfinches* - male and female
• House Finch
• Bushtits
• Wood Ducks - males and female
• American Robins
• Bewick's Wren*
• Great Blue Heron

*Lifer