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Descriptions of over 250 birding sites
Checklist of 543 species with seasonal abundance chart
References and Contact Information
Category Archives: behavior
How to Watch an Owl
A lot of people, both birders and non-birders, are fascinated by owls. I personally don’t get more excited by owls than any other group of birds, but some folks just lose all ethics and common sense when they come within … Continue reading
September Shorebirds
Shorebirds have been trickling through the Portland area all month. Finding proper habitat can be challenging. As wetlands dry up during the summer, we have to hope that deeper bodies of water recede enough to create mudflats for shorebirds to … Continue reading
Low Tide
Trestle Bay, just off Parking Lot D at Fort Stevens State Park, can be one of the more productive shorebird spots on the north coast. Timing is critical, as the bay fills completely with the high tide. When the tide … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, mammals, seasonal movements
Tagged California Gull, California Sea Lion, Common Merganser
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Some Non-avian Sightings
While I am usually looking specifically for birds, I enjoy whatever wildlife I encounter along the way. I don’t spend a lot of effort looking for butterflies, but I do appreciate it when one poses for me. This is a … Continue reading
Random Summer Birds
Spring migration has come and gone, and many birders agree that it was a dud. Numbers and diversity seemed quite low in the Portland area this spring. So now we concentrate on the summer residents, like this Black-headed Grosbeak. Most … Continue reading
Random Images
Here are some random birds from recent weeks. This Great Blue Heron was wading deep at Commonwealth Lake. The white face and yellow eye really popped, giving her a creepy look. A Black-capped Chickadee was excavating a cavity in a … Continue reading
Force Lake
Force Lake, a small lake at the edge of a golf course in north Portland, is not a terribly attractive site, but it can be quite birdy at times. On this visit, a large flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows was feeding … Continue reading
Into the Woods
We left Portland for ten days to escape the fireworks which terrify our dogs. We stayed on a farm in the Coast Range in Benton County. The birds where we stayed were typical Coast Range birds which stayed high in … Continue reading
Jackson Bottom
Spring migration hasn’t really revved up yet, but a recent warm sunny day drew me out to Jackson Bottom Wetlands. I was as interested in herping as I was birding, and some cooperative herps easily filled the void created by … Continue reading
Virginia Rail
As many people are jumping on the “bird local” bandwagon, little Commonwealth Lake Park in Beaverton has been getting a lot of birding attention and producing an increasing array of interesting species. One of the stars of this winter is … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, conservation issues, OR Birding Sites
Tagged Commonwealth Lake Park, Virginia Rail
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