John Rakestraw

Columbia River Gorge

The Columbia River Gorge is not a terribly birdy place. You can hear some of the common species, and see a bird or two on any given hike, but there are better places to see the birds of the western Cascades. Occasionally, however, I remind myself that there is more to life than birds. Recently I left my binocular at home and took a couple of hikes in the gorge. Here are some highlights, minus the shortness of breath and sore calves.

This is a view from the rocky outcrop known as Angel’s Rest. From here you can see the Columbia River, forests in various stages of regrowth, and rimrock.

A view of the river with blooming Ocean Spray.

Red Columbine

Tiger Lily

This young Brush Rabbit was sitting right by the trail. So cute.

Thimbleberry

Lorquin’s Admiral drinking near a stream

We passed this stream in the Wahkeena Falls area.

Western Tanager. I have to include at least one bird per post.

Western Sandpipers

July 10, 2009 at 9:03 pm | In OR Birding Sites, species profile | Leave a Comment
Tags: Cannon Beach, Western Sandpiper

I took a client to Cannon Beach this week to see the Tufted Puffins nesting on Haystack Rock (Birding Oregon p. 124). While he was photographing his lifer Heerman’s Gull, I had a chance to study a small flock of Western Sandpipers. Cannon Beach is a very popular tourist town, so the crowded beach usually holds very few shorebirds. But this flock had found a particularly slimy patch of rocks that was effectively repelling the tourists, so I was able to watch the birds feeding undisturbed.

This individual, probably a female, given the long bill, was still in full breeding plumage. Note the rufous, black, and white upperparts and the streaks and chevrons extending along the sides.

This bird is probably a male. The bill is short and straight, but still tapers to the tip. He is already starting to molt into his gray winter (basic) plumage, although he still retains a few colorful scapulars.

This probable female shows bold streaks and chevrons on the breast and sides.

Here we see the partial webbing between the outer toes. Western Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper are the only two species of stints (or “peeps”) that show this trait.

I will be teaching a class on autumn shorebirds at Portland Audubon on September 16. For more information, click here.

Royal Ave/Fern Ridge Reservoir

July 5, 2009 at 7:47 am | In OR Birding Sites | 1 Comment
Tags: American Goldfinch, Black Tern, Fern Ridge Reservoir, Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow

Fern Ridge Reservoir is a large impoundment just west of Eugene, OR. Much of the property on the eastern and southern sides of the lake is included in the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (Birding Oregon, p.89), and some of the best birding is found at the west end of Royal Avenue.

The area just north of the parking lot is grassland, bordered on the east by oak savannah. Here an American Goldfinch and a Savannah Sparrow share a moment on the fence.

A target species of many birders at this site is Grasshopper Sparrow. This species is quite rare in western Oregon, and the field north of the Royal Avenue parking lot is one of their few reliable nesting sites. This individual repeatedly returned to this perch to sing. I believe the nest was nearby so I didn’t get too close.

Walking west from the parking lot takes you to the marshes at the eastern edge of the reservoir. Nesting species include waterfowl, herons, rails, and this Black Tern. As the summer progresses, water levels drop to create muddy habitat for migrant shorebirds. This is where Oregon’s first Wood Sandpiper appeared last year.

These little fish were common in a shallow puddle near a culvert. I think they are some species of topminnow, but I didn’t take any out of the puddle to look at their fin configuration. If you recognize these, please leave a comment.

This is a sad reality at some good birding sites. Several people have had the catalytic converters removed from their vehicles. Others have had break-ins. On the day I was here, the Corps of Engineers had sent a couple to serve as “Park Hosts.” They remained in the parking lot, with their cute little dog, and had educational materials available for visitors. I think I have an advantage in areas like this by driving an old car, which may be less attactive to evildoers.

Marsh Wren Dust-bathing

July 1, 2009 at 8:27 pm | In behavior | 1 Comment
Tags: dust bathing, Marsh Wren

This series of photos shows a Marsh Wren dust-bathing. This species normally hides in cattails and other tall vegetation, so it was quite a treat to see this bird out in the open for so long. Wrens will often bathe in water and then dust. It is thought that sifting dust through the plumage helps to control parasites.

William L. Finley NWR

June 27, 2009 at 8:03 pm | In OR Birding Sites, mammals | 1 Comment
Tags: Northern Harrier, Roosevelt Elk, Savannah Sparrow, William L. Finley NWR

This is the prairie at the northeast corner of Finley National Wildlife Refuge (Birding Oregon p. 84). The bird diversity in prairies is often pretty low, and you get rather damp walking through shoulder-high grass on a dewy morning, but I always enjoy exploring grassland habitats.

Savannah Sparrow was the most numerous species by far. This distant grainy photo is typical of my efforts to capture this species. They either flush right at your feet, or perch on an exposed twig so they can see you coming a mile away. Western Meadowlarks and Western Kingbirds were also present, but equally un-photogenic.

This male Northern Harrier hovered over me for a while. I was apparently too close to his nest. I kept moving.

This bull Roosevelt Elk was completely hidden by the grass until he stood up. It seems odd to me that this large beast, who could trample me into the prairie sod without so much as breaking a sweat, would be intimidated by this little vegan biped. But I guess some of the bipeds this guy encounters are packing rifles or bows, so it is probably a good thing to be wary.

Here are a few more of the herd. See the two babies? The female in the middle has her tongue out, but I don’t think that was directed toward me.

Bullock’s Oriole

June 17, 2009 at 6:20 pm | In nesting | 3 Comments
Tags: Bullock's Oriole

This male Bullock’s Oriole was bringing a caterpillar to his nestlings on the Oak Island Unit of Sauvie Island. This is one of the more reliable spots to find this species in the Portland area. That hanging nest is a fantastic piece of architecture.

Pinyon Jay

June 10, 2009 at 6:52 pm | In species profile | 1 Comment
Tags: Pinyon Jay

On a recent trip to Sisters, OR, I enjoyed watching Pinyon Jays come to the bird feeders at our hotel. These are fun birds, always in a group and always calling.

This bird shows off his lovely cerulean blue crown.

The throat is the only part of this species that isn’t blue.

This profile shows off the bird’s long bill, handy for harvesting pine nuts when the bird isn’t slumming it at the feeder.

Bad Bird Photograph ID Quiz

June 5, 2009 at 7:59 pm | In identification challenges | 6 Comments

Because if birds always looked like they do in the magazines, birding would be too easy.

Here we have a photo of a distant bird, backlit, in low light. It was taken on the east slope of the Cascades on May 29. We can’t see much in the way of color or feather detail. But we do have some clues to the bird’s ID.

1. The crown has a definite peak
2. If you look closely, you can seen a line of demarcation between the dark side and the lighter belly.
3. The bird is perched at the very top of a dead tree.
4. The bird appears rather stout.
5. There appears to be a bit of white at the side of the rump.

So what bird is this? Leave a comment with your answer. I’ll reveal the ID in the comments in a couple of days.

Crystal Springs in the Spring

June 4, 2009 at 7:57 pm | In OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements | 1 Comment
Tags: American Crow, Cackling Goose, Crystal Springs, Wood Duck

I visited Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden (Birding Oregon p. 69) on May 28. This site is best known as a good spot for wintering waterfowl. This late in the spring, most of the ducks and geese have moved on, leaving just a few resident species. But even with the lower diversity, it is still nice to be able to get such close looks at birds that are normally much more “wild” in other locations.

Wood Ducks are always a treat.

This male Wood Duck was in a tree, providing a view of the white throat.

American Crows in the bright sun showed some interesting feather patterns.

Two Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii minima) were still present. This is a very late date for this species to still be in Portland. This species nests on the Arctic tundra, so most have left by mid-April. Perhaps these two thought that a summer on the duck pond would be nicer than flying all that way.

Here is another view of the Cackling Goose. Notice how far the wing tips extend beyond the tail. Long wings are typical for species that migrate long distances.

Purple Martins

May 28, 2009 at 9:32 am | In behavior, nesting | 1 Comment
Tags: Purple Martin, Sauvie Island

I always enjoy checking out the Purple Martin houses behind a home on Sauvie Island. These large swallows are one of the more popular yard birds in the eastern U.S. , but the species is much less common in the West. This site on Sauvie Island is one of the few places in the Portland area to find them.

Here a female is putting nesting material into a martin house. The “natural” nesting habitat for Purple Martins is a cavity, usually an old woodpecker hole. But for the past two centuries, most of the population has chosen to nest in man-made structures.

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