OR Birding Sites – Page 14

North Coast

October 4, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in nesting, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I spent a warm sunny morning around Cannon Beach and Seaside. The first stop was Silver Point, just south of Cannon Beach, for a sea watch. There were plenty of birds out there, way out there. It is what I call birding at the edge of imagination. You have an idea of what you are seeing, but realistically, there is a lot of guessing involved. I did see the wing flash of Sooty Shearwaters and several flocks of White-winged and Surf Scoters, but most of what I saw were unidentifiable specks. Nala was waiting somewhat patiently in the car, so we soon went to Tolovana Wayside and walked to Haystack Rock.

The tide was coming in, so I couldn’t get too close to the rocks. Still, you could see several Harlequin Ducks. Here is a male and female, with a Black Oystercatcher on the right. I didn’t see the Oystercatcher when I was in the field, only when I developed the photo.

another Black Oystercatcher

A log, which has obviously been in the water for a long time, had washed up on shore, and the American Crows were busy picking at the barnacles.

Nala, taking a break

The next stop was the Cove, at Seaside. As is often the case, there was a nice congregation of Black Turnstones on the rocks.

There were also good numbers of Surfbirds.

Heermann’s Gulls should be heading south very soon.

Our last stop was the Necanicum Estuary. This spot is very hit-or-miss, with either lots of birds or none. Today was closer to the latter. But along with the few California Gulls were several Caspian Terns still feeding young. Most Caspian Terns have already moved south, so it seems late to have begging fledglings still around.

Fernhill Wetlands

September 24, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

Fernhill Wetlands, south of Forest Grove, is a great place to see the onset of autumn. Water levels on the main lake are still very low, but the recent rains will soon change that.

Migrant shorebirds, like these Western Sandpipers, are enjoying the mudflats. Shorebird numbers are starting to thin out.

This Pectoral Sandpiper was checking out the new vegetation on the lake bed.

The first Cackling Geese have arrived. They will soon be joined by a few thousand more.

This Common Merganser was resting on an exposed mud bar. I don’t get to see mergansers out of the water very often.

American White Pelicans, once considered rare in the Willamette Valley, are now an expected species in late summer.

collared dove 1 Eurasian Collared-Doves are another species that are increasingly common in the area.

The annual Fernhill Wetlands Birds and Brew Festival will be held on October 12. I will be leading the 8:00 tour for that. Here is a link for more info.

Smith and Bybee Wetlands

September 17, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area (aka Smith and Bybee Lakes) in northeast Portland is a great spot in late summer as the water levels drop. Large flocks of American White Pelicans, California Gulls, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and various shorebirds gather to feed in the shallow water and on the mudflats. On this visit, most birds were pretty far away, but could be scanned with a scope. Western and Least Sandpipers were the only shorebirds I could pull out of the distant flocks, but other species have been reported recently.

This juvenile Green Heron was hanging out at the canoe launch on Smith Lake.

In the same area, this Peregrine Falcon was surveying the mudflats for tasty shorebirds.

On Bybee Lake, large numbers of Blue Herons and Great Egrets were gathered. At the edge of the group was this Snowy Egret, an uncommon visitor to the Portland area. Here is a nice comparison with the larger Great Egret.

The lumps on the shoreline are dead and dying waterfowl, mostly Northern Shovelers. Warm temperatures and low water levels sometimes lead to outbreaks of avian botulism. Outbreaks usually subside with cooler temperatures and rain, which we are now getting in Portland.

Shorebird Class 7 September 2013

September 13, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

I took my shorebird class to the north coast. We ended the day with 14 species of shorebirds, plus one that got away unidentified. Our first stop was The Cove in Seaside. The tide was very low so the birds were far away, but we still found a nice selection of rockpipers. Here is a large flock of Black Turnstones with a couple of Surfbirds.

Stanley Lake hosted two Pectoral Sandpipers.

Semipalmated Plover, also at Stanley Lake

We visited the Hammond Boat Basin, hoping for Whimbels and Marbled Godwits. Instead, we had to “settle” for several hundred Heerman’s Gulls (above), along with Brown Pelicans and Elegant Terns. It was a lovely sunny day at the coast.

Water Babies, Tualatin River NWR

July 29, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians

There are lots of youngsters in the wetlands these days. We haven’t had any rain in July, so water levels are dropping, concentrating wetland animals into smaller areas. This is a Spotted Sandpiper in that awkward adolescent stage.

The same Spotted Sandpiper, peeking out of a culvert

spotted 1 This adult Spotted Sandpiper may be the parent of the juvenile pictured above. Like many birders, she assumes the sign does not apply to her.

This young Pied-billed Grebe was grooming and stretching in the canal.

There are lots of tadpoles in the canal.
Unfortunately, they belong to the invasive American Bullfrog.

Every puddle has a school of baby bullheads this time of year.

Another invasive species, but darned cute, is this young Nutria nibbling on aquatic vegetation.

Jackson Bottom, 11 July 2013

July 11, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, nesting, OR Birding Sites

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 not taught him to skulk in the weeds yet.

blue-winged and cinnamon teal The best bird of the day was this male Blue-winged Teal (right foreground), always hard to find in the Willamette Valley. He flew in with a small flock of Cinnamon Teal.

Families of young Mallards were everywhere.

These Canada Geese are mostly grown, but retain a bit of their cute fuzziness.

I was surprised by the lack of migrant shorebirds. The resident Spotted Sandpipers were well represented.

Lots of Nutria were out this morning. Yes, introduced species often wreak havoc on native ecosystems, AND, Nutria look like adorable little bears.

Tualatin River NWR

June 16, 2013June 19, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, nesting, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians

While the bird diversity has thinned out considerably in the past couple of weeks, I had some nice views of the summer residents at Tualatin River NWR. The resident Bald Eagles still have one youngster in the nest. He is expected to fledge any day now.

One of the parents was hanging out near the refuge headquarters, looking all regal.

This Common Yellowthroat was frequently seen carrying food, indicating he had a nest nearby.

Mourning Dove, feeding on the gravel road.
mourning dove eyes closed I think the blue eye shadow makes her look a little trashy.

Savannah Sparrows are common in the open habitats here.

Western Scrub-Jay

male Northern Flicker

Brush Rabbit. The tattered ear suggests that he has had a close escape or two.

This Townsend’s Chipmunk was eating grass seeds.

I saw two Rough-skinned Newts crossing the road. One of the most poisonous animals known to science, this species exudes equal amounts of toxins and cuteness.

Sandy River Delta, 5 June 2013

June 7, 2013June 7, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians

I took Nala on a hiking/swimming tour of the Sandy River Delta. We were there at midday, so we missed the dawn chorus, but the common species were still active and vocal.

American Goldfinch

In the open brushy habitats, you can’t turn around without seeing a Lazuli Bunting.

Lazuli Bunting

It was nice to find a couple of native Red-legged Frogs. This species often succumbs to introduced American Bullfrogs.

Nala’s main interest in the trip was swimming. She swam in a vernal pool, the Sandy River, and the Columbia River.

During the long hot walk back toward the car, she needed to cool off in this convenient mud hole.

Seasonal Mix

May 19, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I did the Tillamook Death March this week, walking the six miles around Bayocean Spit (Birding Oregon p. 128). After two weeks of warm sunny weather, we have returned to a more normal gloomy, rainy pattern, so I only took out the camera for this Red-necked Grebe in nice breeding attire. There is currently an interesting mix of winter, migrant, and breeding species around. Tillamook Bay still held Common and Pacific Loons along with this grebe. All should be moving north very soon.

On the way home I stopped at Fernhill Wetlands and found this Greater Yellowlegs. Most migrant shorebirds have passed through already, but a few linger on.

Also at Fernhill was a pair of Killdeer with three fuzzy babies. Too cute.

Shorebird Class

May 11, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I took my shorebirds class to Seaside. At the Cove, we found Black Turnstones, Surfbirds, and these Black Oystercatchers.

Best bird of the day was this Red Knot at the Necanicum Estuary.

OK, not a shorebird, but this Western Gull was just standing there, waiting to be photographed. (and Western Gulls are about the only species around right now)