Tualatin River NWR
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, located just a few miles southwest of Portland on Hwy 99W, is a wonderful refuge for wintering waterfowl, despite its location in such an urban area. The dikes...
View ArticleWashington County Wetlands
I visited several sites in Washington County to check for migrant shorebirds, inspired by the recent appearance of a Spotted Redshank at Fern Ridge Reservoir (Birding Oregon p 89) . I didn’t find...
View ArticleFernhill Wetlands 11/1/12
Things are hopping at Fernhill Wetlands, with rising water levels, an influx of several thousand geese and other waterfowl, and a few other goodies. Cackling Geese have been arriving for weeks now, and...
View ArticleJackson Bottom, 11 July 2013
I walked around Jackson Bottom in Hillsboro this morning. As you would expect at this time of year, there were lots of young birds around. This young Savannah Sparrow posed nicely. His parents have...
View ArticleCannon Beach
While I recognize the serious nature of the current drought, it is hard to be unhappy about sunshine in January. So after many weeks of not birding, I finally got out and spent a day on the coast. On...
View ArticleTualatin River NWR
I made a quick visit to Tualatin River NWR in the afternoon heat. One of the main trails is closed off until this young Bald Eagle decides to leave the nest. Despite the flock of European Starlings...
View ArticleNew Year Birding
I went out for a few hours on New Year’s Day to scout locations for my upcoming gull class. The weather was freakishly sunny for a January day in the Portland area. The only gull flock I found was at...
View ArticleSandy River Delta
Nala and I spent the morning at the Sandy River Delta east of Portland. Bird activity is definitely picking up, although many of the summer residents haven’t arrived yet. White-crowned Sparrows were...
View ArticleCommonwealth Lake
I brief walk around Commonwealth Lake in Beaverton revealed lots of recently fledged Barn Swallows. They were perching on branches above the water, waiting for their parents to fly in with food. still...
View ArticleSmith Rock State Park
I hadn’t been to the dry side of Oregon for far too long, so I took a trip to Smith Rock State Park. The avian stars of this site are the White-throated Swifts that nest here. They did not disappoint,...
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