Western Sandpiper – John Rakestraw

September Shorebirds

September 23, 2021September 23, 2021 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, seasonal movements

Greater Yellowlegs

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 feed on. This Greater Yellowlegs was at Force Lake in north Portland.

g yellowlegs trio Typically seen wading, Greater Yellowlegs will occasionally swim in groups to catch small fish.
greater yellowlegs swimming

western This juvenile Western Sandpiper, showing the characteristic rusty suspenders, was taking advantage of low water levels at Smith and Bybee Wetlands.

The main lake at Fernhill Wetlands has receded enough to create some nice mudflats, here being enjoyed by a Pectoral Sandpiper.

juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher, showing the characteristic solid dark tertials

short-billed dowitcher small juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher, showing the characteristic tiger-striped tertials

spotted sandpiper small Spotted Sandpipers nest in the Portland area. Juveniles, like this one, can be recognized by the barring on the wing coverts.

semipalmated plover small Semipalmated Plovers are surely one of the cutest shorebirds. The scaly pattern on the wings tells us that this is a juvenile.

Happy Autumn

Crooked River Wetlands Complex

July 13, 2021 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

crooked river parking lot I had a chance to visit Crooked River Wetlands near Prineville. Like Fernhill Wetlands, this site was constructed as part of a wastewater treatment system. But Crooked River Wetlands was designed from the beginning to accommodate both birds and birders. The parking lot has a covered picnic area (the only shade on the property) and a restroom. Paved and gravel paths provide easy viewing of the wetlands.

crooked river wetlands There are 15 bodies of water in the complex, which is right next to the Crooked River. Water levels vary with the seasons, so there is a variety of water depths which attract different species.

Shorebird migration is getting underway. Here are some Western Sandpipers.

Spotted Sandpiper

One of the deeper ponds held this pair of Ruddy Ducks.

eared grebe and baby Eared Grebe with baby

Between the river, the ponds, and the adjacent wastewater plant, this site attracts swarms of swallows. Tree Swallows use the many nest boxes.

This is one of the easiest places I know to see Bank Swallows.

Northern Harrier

brewer's Brewer’s Blackbird was one of five blackbird species I saw on this visit.

Tricolored Blackbirds can be hard to find in Oregon, but this site is pretty reliable.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are common here. The males tended to hide in the reeds, but this female and youngster posed nicely.

Say's Phoebe This is one of two Say’s Phoebes that were working the fence line at the edge of the property.

Crooked River Wetlands is one of the best birding sites in central Oregon, providing access to a great variety of wetland species in a very dry part of the state. It provides a nice pocket of avian diversity at a time of year when birding can be pretty slow.

Happy Summer

Tillamook

October 6, 2020 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I had to go to Tillamook Bay to get some photos for an upcoming webinar. This particular day had freakishly nice weather, very un-Tillamook-like. Ideally, during fall migration, a birder hopes for onshore winds to bring seabirds and shorebirds close to shore, and a light overcast to provide gentle light for viewing and cool temperatures. This day brought light east winds, a cloudless cobalt blue sky, and temperatures in the 80s. I guess we have to play the cards we are dealt.

This is the Three Graces Tidal Area. The sun hadn’t cleared the hill yet so it was too dark to photograph the Harlequin Duck that was swimming around the rocks. Harlequins are regular at this site.

At the Bay City Oyster Plant, this Double-crested Cormorant was taking advantage of the sun to dry his wings.

Black Phoebe on the pilings at the oyster plant

With the east winds, shorebirds were very rare on this trip. This mixed flock of Least and Western Sandpipers at the oyster plant was the only big flock of the day.

Western Gull, hanging out on the Purple Martin boxes

I did the Tillamook Death March around Bayocean Spit. The ocean side of the spit is typically not as birdy as the bay side, but there was not a single shorebird on this trip.

There had apparently been at least a couple of shorebirds here earlier in the day.

Always glad to see these signs, hope that the Snowy Plover population will continue to recover on the Oregon Coast.

The Common Ravens on the beach were pretty skittish. I wonder if they have been “encouraged” to avoid the plover nesting areas.

There were a lot of these jellyfish near the mouth of the bay. Yet another reason I don’t swim in the ocean.

Despite the summery weather, autumn migrants, like this Red-necked Grebe, are trickling in.

A Mew Gull with two California Gulls

Despite the eerily nice weather, there were a few birds around. We need to remind ourselves that there is always something to see.

Happy Autumn

Inland Shorebirds

May 10, 2019 by John Rakestraw, posted in seasonal movements

From the end of April through the middle of May, migrant shorebird numbers peak along the Oregon coast. I haven’t made it out to the coast yet this spring, but my local inland sites have produced a few species. There isn’t much shorebird habitat in the Portland area in the spring since most bodies of water are full and thus lack mudflats. Muddy edges and flooded soccer fields have to do.

The most unusual find so far has been this Solitary Sandpiper. Solitaries are quite rare in spring (They are pretty rare in autumn, too.) so this bird was a nice surprise.

Least Sandpipers have been passing through in small flocks. This individual is modeling all the classic marks of the species; yellowish legs, upperparts that are brown but not too rusty, and a tiny drooping bill.

On the coast, Western Sandpipers travel in flocks of hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals. In my 5-mile radius so far, I have seen two. Note the dark legs, longer bills, and more rusty coloration.

Other shorebirds seen but not photographed include a flock of Long-billed Dowitchers, the local Killdeer, and my first Spotted Sandpiper of the year.

A trip to the coast next week should give me a good taste of spring shorebird migration. It will seem odd venturing out of my 5MR, but sometimes you have to go to where the birds are.

Happy Spring

Hudsonian Godwit

September 25, 2018September 25, 2018 by John Rakestraw, posted in rarities

hugo and bbpl
A Hudsonian Godwit has been hanging out at Fort Stevens for over a week now. This species, seen here with a Black-bellied Plover, normally migrates through the central part of the continent so an appearance on the west coast is a rare treat.

rump
Here is a glimpse of the bird’s white rump, one feature that helps separate it from the expected Marbled Godwits. Other differences include the gray-brown coloration, dark underwings, bold wing stripe, and obvious pale supercilium.

Note how much yellow is present on one of these Black-bellied Plovers. This is apparently quite common on young Black-bellieds, but this is the first year I have seen it. These birds can be mistaken for American or Pacific Golden-Plovers at first glance, but the bulkier shape, thick bills, and different calls all point to Black-bellied Plover.

Other birds sharing the beach with the godwit and plovers included Sanderlings,

a Dunlin,

wesp 3
and Western Sandpipers. Notice the tiny bill on this individual, suggesting that the bird is a male.

Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, and Dunlin

Happy Shorebirding!

Jackson Bottom

July 13, 2017 by John Rakestraw, posted in nesting, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I made a quick visit to Jackson Bottom in Hillsboro. This is a very busy spot in the summer. The Savannah Sparrows are still in full song.

puddle Pintail Pond has been drained to accommodate some restoration work on the site, so it has dried out about two months earlier than normal. This is normally one of the better shorebird sites in the Portland area during the summer, so we will have to find other spot this year. There is only about three weeks between the end of northbound shorebird migration and the beginning of southbound migration. Western and Least Sandpipers have arrived in good numbers, and were feeding in the little puddle that remains of Pintail Pond.

western least
Western (l) and Least (r) Sandpipers

spotted adult
Spotted Sandpipers are common nesters in the area.

spotted chick
Spotted Sandpiper chick

Four Greater Yellowlegs made a brief appearance.

swallow box
Tree Swallows are everywhere at Jackson Bottom, thanks in part to the many nesting boxes that have been installed here.

swallows 3
The first broods are grown up now, and it looks like second broods will be arriving shortly.

swallow 2
pretty boy

Birdathon 2016

May 16, 2016May 16, 2016 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

The Weekday Warblers birdathon team made its inaugural trip on May 12. We birded the north coast from Cannon Beach to Fort Stevens, with a stop at the Sunset Rest Stop on the way. We did well with seabirds and shorebirds, but were sorely lacking in upland species. A few tweaks to the route and a longer day would probably get us a bigger list, but we had a great time with great weather and ended the day with 80 species.

This is one of a couple of Common Ravens who were hanging out in the parking lot of the Sunset Rest Area.

One of many Whimbrels seen on the beach

This flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls was flying around the South Jetty at Fort Stevens.

a distant Roosevelt Elk at Fort Stevens

We made two quick stops at The Cove in Seaside. Most of the few birds that were there were quite a ways out, requiring lots of squinting through a scope, but this White-winged Scoter came close to shore for some nice views.

The best find of the day was the large shorebird flock on the beach at Fort Stevens. The Oregon Coast does not usually get huge numbers of migrant shorebirds. Birders joke about he Shorebird Dome that covers the coast, forcing birds to fly directly from northern California to Gray’s Harbor, Washington. But this past week the dome was breached and good numbers and diversity of shorebirds worked the beaches of the north coast. We found these birds mid-afternoon, so the sun was already in the west causing terrible lighting for photos. But this will give you an idea. The photo above shows a Western Sandpiper with two Dunlin.

Sanderling

Ruddy Turnstone with Western Sandpiper

Red Knot, a rare treat along the Oregon coast

a nice combo of Dunlin, Red Knot, Western Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstone

Boat for Sale. Needs work .

A great day on the Oregon coast.

Broughton Beach, Portland

August 21, 2015November 14, 2015 by John Rakestraw, posted in identification challenges, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

Broughton Beach is along the Columbia River, right next to the Portland airport. It can be a challenging place to bird, with dogs and children chasing the birds, police carrying body bags down the beach, etc. But if you catch it on a good day you can find some excellent birding. The great attraction this past week was a Pacific Golden Plover, which spent two days there, avoiding me with great success (thus that specie’s designation as one of my nemesis birds). I tried for the plover twice with no luck, but found several other goodies along the way.

The most unexpected species was this Red Phalarope. At first glance, I wrote this bird off as a Red-necked, since Reds are very unusual inland in August, and Red-neckeds are expected. Once I looked at the photographs, however, I saw my error and got a good reminder to LOOK AT THE BIRD! That heavy bill with the light-colored base is a dead giveaway for Red Phalarope.

Another coastal species along Broughton Beach was Sanderling.

It is nice to see Sanderlings at inland locations, since you can often get closer to them there than you can at the coast.

Another nice find was this Semipalmated Sandpiper. You can see the partial webbing between the outer toes that gives this species its name. Ten years ago, a Semipalmated Sandpiper anywhere in Oregon was a pretty big deal, but now quite a few individuals are reported every year. Either the bird has become a more common migrant in this state, or people are just better at recognizing them.

Semipalmated Sandpiper (r) and Western Sandpiper (l)

Western Sandpipers were present in small numbers. . .

as were Least Sandpipers.

California Gulls like to hang out on a little sand spit that extends into the river at low tide. A few Glaucous-winged Gulls have arrived, and will become more common as autumn approaches.

This Common Loon seemed a little out of place for August. In the winter months, this species is often seen at this site with large rafts of grebes and diving ducks. There are fewer kids and dogs then, too.

Pacific City

May 6, 2015 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I led a couple of tours for the Birding and Blues Festival last weekend. The weather was dry and reasonably warm, despite rather vicious afternoon winds on the beach.

North winds brought good numbers of migrating shorebirds close to land. Shorebirds often bypass Oregon beaches on their way to Grays Harbor in Washington, so it was nice to find a big flock feeding right across from our hotel.

The flock was mostly Dunlins and Western Sandpipers, but their were a couple of Semipalmated Plovers in mix. (but not in this photo)

These Red-breasted Mergansers were at Clay Meyers State Natural Area.

Bufflehead at Clay Meyers

White-crowned Sparrows were conspicuous and vocal everywhere.

Eurasian Collared Doves are pretty easy to find in Tillamook County. This one was singing behind the community center in Pacific City.

The view from Cape Lookout. It is unusual to see the ocean looking blue instead of steely gray.

Fort Stevens State Park

May 15, 2014 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

When the tides are right, the area around Parking Lot D at Fort Stevens State Park can be very productive.

On my recent visit, I found about 400 Caspian Terns in the bay. Many of the birds were presenting fish to their lady loves, and a few were rewarded accordingly (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). A Bald Eagle would occasionally take a pass at the flock, sending the terns off in a big swirling mass, but the birds would quickly settle down again.

One of my favorite birds of the day was this breeding plumaged Bonaparte’s Gull. I watched the bird fly in and settle on the mud flat. I snapped a couple of frames from a great distance, planning on getting better views. But, as is often the case, the bird took off before I could get any closer.

Over the past few years, this site has been become a productive spot for shorebirds. The spring shorebirds migration is well past its peak, but there were still a few birds around. This little flock was actively feeding along the shore, so I sat on my knees in the sand and waited for the birds to come to me. Shorebirds are very wary of people standing upright, but if you sit down, or better yet, lie down, the birds will come quite close.

This blurry Dunlin was the only member of her species in the flock.

Least Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plovers made up the bulk of this flock.
While the spring shorebird movement is about done, the southbound migration begins in about six weeks, so we don’t have too long to wait for another shorebird fix.