In mid to late summer, when conditions are very hot and dry in Oregon, most of the wildlife activity is found near wetlands, at least until they dry up as well. Here are a few images from various wetlands in the Portland area this summer.
Happy Summer
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge has been good for southbound shorebirds this summer. Early in the season, the Long-billed Dowitchers were still sporting their breeding plumage.
At this point, most of the dowitchers have molted into winter plumage.
Normally seen later in the fall, a few Pectoral Sandpipers have made an appearance at the refuge.
Up to three young Wilson’s Phalaropes were at the refuge this summer.
Least Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs are one of the more common, and more vocal, of the migrant shorebirds.
Lesser Yellowlegs are harder to find, but have been reliable at the refuge this summer.
Occasionally, the Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs will pose together for a nice comparison.
This Wilson’s Snipe made an unusual appearance out in the open.
Shorebird migration lasts through October, but the water at the refuge typically dries up before then. We’ll see how recent restoration efforts affect water levels this year.
Happy summer
Our cold wet April has blossomed into a cold wet May. I shouldn’t complain, since we need whatever moisture we can get, but a few balmy spring days would be nice.
Shorebirds on the northern Oregon coast peaked last week. This Black Oystercatcher was one of four hanging out at the Seaside Cove.
Black Turnstones are common in winter at Seaside Cove, but the few that remain are sporting crisp breeding plumage.
A single Ruddy Turnstone has been at The Cove for a while now.
Songbirds have been moving, too, despite the weather. This Common Yellowthroat was singing at Cooper Mountain Nature Park.
The locally nesting White-crowned Sparrows are on territory and ready for nesting.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets don’t nest around here, but they have been singing like crazy. I cannot seem to get a decent photo of a kinglet, but at least the parts of this bird we can see are clear.
In the “totally creepy and yet fascinating” department: here is a second cycle Western Gull showing the structure of their tongue. I didn’t realize their tongues were that big, let alone such an interesting shape. The more you look, the more you see.
Happy Spring
I think we had more snow in April than we did in December. It has been cold and wet most of the month, and while I am very grateful for the rain and the added mountain snowpack, the weather has seemed to delay the onset of spring. Migrants have been few, and resident species a just starting to get revved up for the season. This Pacific Wren was trying out his song at Tualatin River NWR.
The Townsend’s Chipmunks are out and about. I think the two lumps in this one’s ear are ticks.
Hermit Thrushes, which are considered a winter species here in the Willamette Valley, are still around.
This Virginia Rail put on a nice show at Commonwealth Lake Park.
If we can’t have spring migrants yet, we might as well enjoy the local residents. Spotted Towhees never fail to impress.
On a recent semi-birdless outing, I noticed a nice flight of these, Western White-ribboned Carpet Moth. These are tiny, with a wingspan of about an inch and a stunning pattern. It is always great to learn a new species.
So, colorful migrant birds and will show up any minute. Right?
Happy Spring
Happy Spring
Spring migration hasn’t really kicked in, yet, but the birds that are here are getting more active. Here are some recent images from Fernhill Wetlands. This Brewer’s Blackbird was looking good in the sunshine.
Black Phoebes are now expected at Fernhill Wetlands. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I found Washington County’s first Black Phoebe there.
This was my first Rufous Hummingbird of the year. He refused to perch in decent light.
A large flock of Taverner’s Cackling Geese were hanging out on Fernhill Lake. The Ridgeway’s Cackling Geese were either off feeding somewhere or have moved on.
Brush Rabbit, always adorable
California Ground Squirrel, soaking up the sun
Spotted Towhee
Downy Woodpecker
Bright sunlight makes it hard for me to get a decent of photo of an American Coot, but this bird’s yoga pose was too good not to share.
Happy Spring!
Despite air temperatures in the 40s, the sunshine brought out some signs of spring on a recent visit to Jackson Bottom Wetlands Reserve in Hillsboro.
Tree Swallows are usually the first swallow species to arrive in spring. When the weather is still cold, they hunt for insects close to the water’s surface.
Some Tree Swallows were already laying claim to the many nest boxes at this site.
This California Ground Squirrel was singing (screaming) from a log perch.
The sunshine brought out a good number of snakes, despite the cold temperature. These are Northwestern Garters.
This is a typical Common (Red-spotted) Garter.
This Common Garter is lacking the red pigment shown by most members of this subspecies.
This Long-toed Salamander was hanging out under a big piece of bark.
Happy last days of winter.
The end of the year brings cold wet weather and busy schedules, so I look forward to the start of the new year to get back out in the field. The weather is still bad most of the time, but schedules allow a better chance to get out if there is a dry patch.
This Golden-crowned Sparrow was foraging around the shrubs at the Hillsboro library.
Here’s a young White-crowned Sparrow for comparison.
We still have about a month to enjoy a good diversity of gull species before they start to disperse. This first-cycle Ring-billed Gull was swimming with two adults.
This Olympic Gull (Glaucous-winged X Western hybrid) was hanging out with the Ring-billed Gulls.
At least in western Oregon, January provides some really good winter birding. Get out and enjoy it before the February doldrums kick in.
Happy Winter
Late autumn and early winter is the time to find the biggest diversity of gulls in Oregon. I led a field trip to the coast at the end of October. Strong storms from the west had moved a lot of birds close to shore earlier in the week, but on the day we arrived, strong east winds had driven a lot of birds back out to sea. At least we didn’t get rained on.
At the Seaside Cove, a few gulls posed for us in the sun. This gull is mostly Western, but the streaking on the head and neck suggest some Glaucous-winged ancestry.
This is a fairly robust Iceland Gull (Thayer’s subspecies).
A closer look at the Iceland. The yellow bill will fade as the season progresses.
There aren’t a lot of places in the Portland area to get close looks at gulls anymore. This group was hanging out on a bar in the Willamette River. The flock was a mix of California, Ring-billed, Herring, Iceland, Glaucous-winged, Western, and a mass of messy hybrids.
While scanning the genetic soup of confusing hybrids, it was refreshing to land on a Ring-billed Gull.
California Gull
While this bird ticks most of the boxes for Herring Gull, the bill seemed a little too heavy to me. This, combined with the primaries which were slightly less than jet black, suggest this might be a Cook Inlet Gull (Herring X Glaucous-winged).
This Glaucous-winged Gull was hanging out in a flock of Cackling Geese at Amberglen Park. I am guessing that the grazing geese were stirring up worms for the gull.
Happy Gulling!
Here are some non-waterfowl that I’ve seen in various wetlands recently.
I often struggle with photographing white birds, but this Great Egret came out OK.
Most of the shorebirds have moved on, but a few Least Sandpipers are still around.
The winter sparrow flocks are building up. This Golden-crowned Sparrow was still sporting their breeding plumage.
Golden-crowned Sparrow taking a bath
Song Sparrow
I remember when it was hard to find Lesser Goldfinches in the Portland area, but they usually outnumber American Goldfinches now.
Lesser Goldfinch taking a bath
Belted Kingfisher sharing a perch with a European Starling
Red-winged Blackbird striking a pose
The numbers of Nutria in the Willamette Valley have exploded in recent years. The are indeed non-native and invasive, but the babies are so cute.
Happy Autumn
Ethical Birder 