Cinnamon Teal – Ethical Birder

Autumn Begins

September 26, 2023 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, seasonal movements

The equinox has passed and the rains have begun, so we are officially in autumn.

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The winter sparrows have returned. This Lincoln’s Sparrow was posing with rose hips.

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juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

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Here is another view of the same individual.

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We are still in what I call Ugly Duck Season, when most birds are still in their dull summer patterns. I have heard it referred to as Brown Duck Season, which sounds a little more respectful. This brown duck is a Cinnamon Teal.

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This female Wood Duck is slightly more fancy.

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Speaking of fancy, this Black Swan escaped from captivity and is living the high life at Tualatin River NWR.

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Bald Eagle with a fish

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I have never gotten a good photo of a Great Egret, so here is a mediocre one.

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There are still decent numbers of shorebirds around, including these Greater Yellowlegs, but their numbers should be thinning out pretty quickly.

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I’ll leave you with this Nutria with a spiky punk hairdo.

Happy Autumn!

Wetlands in the Summer

September 12, 2022September 8, 2022 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, seasonal movements

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.

A Purple Martin strafes an American Kestrel at Tualatin River NWR

Barn Swallow about to nab an insect off the water’s surface

Anna’s Hummingbird feeding on a cedar at Fernhill Wetlands

Two Northern River Otters at Koll Center Wetlands

This otter was almost too close for my camera to focus

Several young Soras put on a nice show at Commonwealth Lake Park

Black Phoebe with a damselfly at Fernhill Wetlands

Summer is Ugly Duck Season, as males molt into eclipse plumage and all the duck replace their flight feathers. This Cinnamon Teal at Beal Street Wetland is best identified by his shape.

Happy Summer

Fernhill Wetlands

June 19, 2022June 15, 2022 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

While spring migration has wound down, there is still a lot of bird activity at Fernhill Wetlands. This Anna’s Hummingbird was stretching his wings.

These dapper male Ruddy Ducks were staying in the middle of the main lake, so no good photo for me.

Cinnamon Teal taking a morning nap

Purple Martins are nesting here again.

Black-headed Grosbeak

This Tundra Swan is missing part of her left wing, so is unable to migrate. She has been reported at this site since last year, so she is apparently doing alright despite her injury.

Cedar Waxwing

Lesser Goldfinch in a chain link fence. A lot of people don’t like photos of wildlife on man-made structures. But given the extent that humans have altered the world (Fernhill Wetlands is a man-made wetland.), a lot of species have no choice but to live among human infrastructure. While we can argue about the aesthetics, this is actually “natural” for a lot of animals.

Happy Spring

Fernhill Wetlands

November 2, 2020 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

The rainy season has been slow to arrive this year, so we have had strings of sunny autumn days. While the dry conditions are preventing many of the seasonal wetlands from filling, the clear skies do make for some pleasant birding. Here are a few shots from Fernhill Wetlands.

This Mourning Dove was blending in nicely with the gravel on one of the wastewater filtering beds.

The Killdeer’s pattern provides good camouflage on a rocky background, but doesn’t do as well in dead grass.

Northern Harrier

The Green-winged Teal are starting to get some nice color.

Cinnamon Teal

The Cackling Geese are back in good numbers. There is currently an outbreak of aspergillus, a fungal infection that causes respiratory distress and pneumonia, that has killed dozens of birds at this site.

Ridgeway’s Cackling Goose

American Coot in the sunshine

The only gulls on this visit were these three Bonaparte’s Gulls, swimming with a Northern Pintail and a Green-winged Teal.

Most of the migrant shorebirds are long gone, but there are still some Long-billed Dowitchers around. Note the pattern on the tail showing wider black bars and narrow white bars. This pattern would be reversed on a Short-billed Dowitcher.

Happy Autumn

Fernhill Wetlands

May 31, 2020 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians, seasonal movements

Summer is settling in at Fernhill Wetlands. The birds that are here now are probably nesting. Always a treat this far west is this handsome Blue-winged Teal. I hope he has a mate sitting on eggs somewhere.

Just as lovely, and more expected here, is this Cinnamon Teal. A friend refers to them as “spicy.”

All the migrant shorebirds are gone, so we can stop to enjoy the resident Killdeer.

I have been spending more time around the back side of Dabblers Marsh at Fernhill. The wooded habitat attracts more songbirds, like this Cedar Waxwing.

Purple Martins have reclaimed their nest boxes by the lake.

This Great Egret was hanging out close to the main trail. They are often farther out in the marsh.

I have seen California Ground Squirrels here in the past, but this is the first I have seen since the major renovations. I am glad to see this species is still using the site.

This Long-toed Salamander was my only herp of the day. If you look at the back feet, you can see the extra long fourth toe that gives this species its name.

Happy Spring/Summer

Fernhill Wetlands

July 22, 2017July 22, 2017 by John Rakestraw, posted in identification challenges, mammals, nesting, OR Birding Sites

With the ongoing renovations taking place at Fernhill Wetlands, each visit throughout the year is a new experience. Most of the breeding species have done their thing, and the resident waterfowl have molted into ugly duck season. Water levels are still a little too high to provide shorebird habitat, but that should change soon enough.

Afternoon temperatures have been getting quite warm, so the brush rabbits come out early in the morning to enjoy the cool. The backlighting on this guy highlights the blood vessels in his ears.

Purple Martins are a new addition to Fernhill this year. A new nesting box installed beside the main lake has attracted at least one pair. If you build it, they will come.

These Cinnamon Teal were plowing through a thick mat of algae. Note the very large bills on these ducks, which help identify them in their summer plumage.

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This hatch-year Hooded Merganser was hanging out in the middle of the lake. The unusual habitat choice and the unfamiliar juvenile plumage caused many birders, myself included, to initially call this a bird a Red-breasted Merganser. While a Red-breasted had been documented at this site in May, closer inspection of this bird reveals the solid head shape and the slightly smaller bill of a Hooded. Another reminder to actually look at every bird and don’t rely on others to identify them for you.

Turkey Vulture, experiencing some wing molt

This Red-winged Blackbird was one of a large flock feeding in the cattails.

barn swallow chicks
Some of the local breeders are working on a second clutch. These young Barn Swallows are waiting for someone to come feed them. Soon the power lines will be crowded with young swallows preparing for their first migration.

Spring at Fernhill

April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

While we continue to get above-average rainfall in the Portland area, there have been a few dry days of late, so I ran out for a quick tour of Fernhill Wetlands. Most of the wintering geese are gone, and there are signs that spring is slowly making progress.

Yellow-rumped Warblers, both Audubon’s and Myrtle (shown) races, are coming through in large numbers.

Red-winged Blackbirds are in full song and are staking out territories.

Song Sparrows start singing in January, but are increasingly vocal now.

Several pairs of Cinnamon Teal were courting.

Northern Harrier

A flock of Dunlins was using this log to get out of the mud for a while. They were all still in winter plumage. Dunlins are one of the first species to arrive in spring.
Spring shorebird migration peaks in late April/early May. There is still room in my shorebird class with Portland Audubon April 27/29.

This Sora was being typically elusive.

The red currants were is full bloom, attracting both Anna’s and Rufous Hummingbirds.

Ridgefield NWR

July 17, 2015 by John Rakestraw, posted in beyond OR, mammals, nesting, OR Birding Sites

I don’t get up to Ridgefield NWR in Washington very often, even though it is a short drive from Portland. But lots of folks had recently seen adorable fuzzy little Virginia Rail babies, so I wanted to try my luck.

By the time I got there, the adorable fuzzy little babies had become rather unattractive adolescents, but it was still fun to see this usually shy species out in the open.

Another adolescent foraging near the rails was this little Nutria. The refuge staff tries to control the population of this introduced species, but they remain plentiful.

Northern Harrier

Black-tailed Deer, perfectly hidden among the teasel

There is not a lot of water on the refuge right now, so the Great Egrets were gathered on one of the remaining ponds.

We are entering Ugly Duck Season, when adult ducks molt into identical ratty plumages, making them much harder to identify. I am going with Cinnamon Teal on this mama and babies (all-black bill, overall warm brown coloring).

On the way home we stopped at Kelly Point Park along the Columbia River in NW Portland. California Gulls were gathered on the pilings.

This young American Crow (note the pinkish gape) was begging for food.

Nala, the large aquatic mammal.

Tualatin River NWR

June 13, 2015 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is still a fairly new addition to the Willamette Valley refuge complex, but it offers a nice variety of habitats very close to Portland. I don’t know if the resident Bald Eagles had a successful nesting this year, but this individual was hanging out by the nest during my recent visit.

Cinnamon Teal were conspicuous, but Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal were also present.

Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers are both common nesters on the refuge.

The air above the wetlands is filled with various species of swallows. This Northern Rough-winged Swallow was the only one that sat for a distant photo.

This Willow Flycatcher was giving his distinctive “FITZ-bew” call.

Western Wood-Pewees were calling from the edges of the woods.

The grassy areas are home to Savannah Sparrows.

This White-crowned Sparrow was singing from the roof of the refuge office.

Wetland Birds

March 17, 2015 by John Rakestraw, posted in nesting, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

While spring migration has not really ramped up yet, locally nesting birds at Fernhill Wetlands and Jackson Bottoms are starting to pair up, and the winter flocks are breaking up.

A few Least Sandpipers have arrived at Fernhill.

These Killdeer were vying for position. I think this species would be more highly regarded if their voices weren’t so grating. Their plumage and red eye ring are rather stunning, but they just don’t shut up.