Beaverton Bird Blog

Hummingbirds

2011-12-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything for months so I thought I would post some hummingbird pictures.

Wetlands

2010-11-26T17:02:00.000-08:00

On a small birding trip to Koll center wetlands it seemed strange for the water to be so low considering the rain over the last few weeks and the snow melt. Does anybody know why the wetlands are like this?

These are some bald eagles flying around in Greenway park.

Have a good weekend everybody!

Nesting robins!

2010-07-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

It's been such a long time since I posted something here. Since I haven't been on here for a while I thought I could post something telling you about the robins we have nesting.
We first noticed the nest when we came back from vacation. We put up a robin/swallow nesting shelf last year. Nothing came but then a year later we discovered a robin sitting on her newly laid eggs. It took about 14 days for the eggs to hatch. It was obvious when the eggs hatched when the adults started coming in with beak-fulls of worms.
Now we see the parents coming in every ten minutes with bunches of worms. When they come in you can see the baby birds stick their heads up and open their big orange mouths.
Here are the progressive pictures taken of the family.

Birds of Monterey.

2009-11-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

These are the wild birds from our trip to Monterey, California.

Pelagic cormorants! I've waited a long time to see these.

The gulls were surprisingly large.

A flock of brown pelicans.

What a sight.

These pigeons sometimes strayed into the stores.

Is this a Heerman's gull?

A young brown pelican.

I could never figure this bird out. Any ideas?

This is a funny picture!

The mystery bird again.

A red-shouldered hawk! This was a pleasant surprise.

Have a good week.

Autumn trees, mushrooms and squirrels.

2009-11-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of wildlife activity around. Especially around the pumpkin seeds.

The squirrels and jays have been gobbling up the leftover pumpkin seeds from carving.

Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees but there is still some left.

Don't know what kind of mushrooms these are.

Happy Halloween everyone!

2009-10-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

End of summer catch-up.

2009-09-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Summer has just flown by this year. With summer over I have some posting work to do!

I hope you enjoy!

A little hummer drinking some nectar.

A very hot squirrel.

A cooper's hawk enjoying lunch in our tree.

The bees love this plant. It just recently bloomed. I think it's called Autumn joy.

A close-up of some lavender from Willakenzie lavender farm.

Our Provence lavender in our garden.

I'll be posting more soon.

Have a nice weekend!

Some great pictures for the Summer.

2009-07-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have been really enjoying the Summer weather. We took a vacation to Ashland. I saw two life birds, an Acorn Woodpecker and a Western Kingbird!

I have a whole bunch of cool pictures to share from the summer.

A house finch enjoying some sunflower.

A silhouetted song sparrow.

Picturesque grass.

A female Mallard quacking at me.

We saw this strange bee group. Any ideas why they are on the ground like this? Please let me know!

A pretty little ladybug

This is a near perfect shot! A rainbow going around the sun in a perfect circle! I forget what you call this.

A big worm!

A little Annas hummer.

A daylily in our yard.

A male Annas hummer

A juvenile dark-eyed junco!

Black-headed grosbeaks have become regulars.

One of the juvenile red-tailed hawks from the nest in Greenway park! This guy was looking straight at me! They look really healthy!

An Osprey over Emigrant Lake in Ashland.

An Acorn woodpecker! A life bird! I am pleased at the way this turned out!

Enjoy the Summer!

FOS birds.

2009-06-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Recently I have seen two First Of Season birds.

I didn't even know what bird this is. I just snapped this photo of it. When I looked at the picture I just took I realized that it's a Cedar Waxwing!

This is a Great-blue heron but It represents the Green Herons that have come back.

I still have not seen any Evening Grosbeaks or Lazuli Buntings. Although I spotted a female Western tanager at the library nearby I have not seen any in my yard.

Columbia river gorge; Part 3

2009-06-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Wahkeena falls.

Multnomah falls.

The bottom of Ponytail falls.

A millipede on a rock near Ponytail falls.

A junco hopping around with a beak full of nesting material.

This was an amazing trip. We saw many cool things and enjoyed our hike.

Time well spent.

Columbia river gorge; Part 2

2009-06-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

Behind Ponytail falls.

A cool little spot near Wahkeena falls.

At the bottom of Wahkeena falls.

Latourell falls.

An Osprey soaring over.

Columbia river gorge Part 1.

2009-06-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

These are the rest of the photos from Friday when we went to the Columbia river gorge.

We started at Horsetail falls.

Horsetail falls.

The view from the trail leading to Ponytail falls.

Does anyone know what these are? They have a very sweet smell.

These are very pretty little flowers.

Arriving at Ponytail falls.

A quick question.

2009-05-29T16:34:00.001-07:00

Okay. I snapped this photo at the Columbia River Gorge today. At first I thought this was an Osprey nest but looking closer at it this just puzzles me. Do you know what this is?

Great blue herons for Great blue heron week.

2009-05-28T18:24:00.001-07:00

Red-tailed hawks growing fast.

2009-05-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

The red-tailed hawk babies around the Portland area are growing fast! Check this out!

These are the two red-tail babies from the raptor cam in Downtown Portland! They are almost adults!

This is one of the red-tail babies in greenway park just at the edge of the nest on the left side. They are getting big too!

Here is some fur picked off a rodent and tossed to the ground.

This puzzles me. Any ideas what bird this wing picked clean tossed under the red-tail nest belongs to?

Enjoy your weekend!

Catch up post.

2009-05-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!

Sorry for the lack of posting. Since I haven't posted for a while I decided to make a catch up post.

A mother mallard with her ducklings!

This red-winged blackbird does not like people. He always chirps and hovers right over your head when anybody walks over "the beaver bridge". I don't blame him. He has a nest right next to it! We heard the babies chirping yesterday.

A mallard nest in Greenway.

Look at the size of the goslings!

Another huge "gosling".

Yes! I got a picture of one of the male black-headed grosbeaks that have arrived!

We have also spotted a mother wood duck with 11 babies in Greenway park! She is very good at hiding. A good skill to have when there are so many predators around.

Have a great week! :-)

GIG: Geese in Greenway.

2009-04-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

Waterfowl, shorebirds, swallows and blackbirds.

2009-04-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just thought you might enjoy some evening wetland birds.

See Mr. mallard looking at us?

The first time I've been able to capture (a picture of course) a swallow perching!

A short-billed dowitcher.

Look at all that red on this blackbird!

And finally, wigeon.

Have a great week!

Close encounters at the wetlands.

2009-04-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we payed a short visit to Koll wetlands. As soon as we got out of the car and walked to the edge of the pond there was a red-tailed hawk that swooped down in a mudflat near a killdeer. When he saw us the hawk took flight. We were worried he grabbed one of the killdeer but he ended up only getting a talon full of weeds. Although he only got plants the killdeer were calling rapidly to one another; "Killdeer, Killdeer". They were calling to each other the whole time we were there. Since the killdeer were disoriented I was able to get a rare up close encounter with the bird!

Enjoy!

Hello Mrs. killdeer!

Cool! That's a pintail!

Mrs. killdeer again.

Pintail, a mallard and short-billed dowitchers.

Lots of wigeon!

More wigeon. Also a female Eurasian wigeon! (bottom left).

The male cinnamon teal.

Look who's coming in!

Huh?

Oh no!

Two red-tailed hawks!

Hello!

No don't go in the parking lot!

What?

I can't quite tell what these are.

Me walking up to the male killdeer didn't even phase him! This is not zoomed in!

Bird list for the visit:

Killdeer
Red-tailed hawk
Canvasback
Bufflehead
Western Canada goose
Cackling goose
Norther pintail
American wigeon
Gadwall
Mallard
Great-blue heron
American coot
Ruddy duck
Ring-necked duck
Greater scaup
Lesser scaup
Green-winged teal
Cinnamon teal
Northern shoveler
Eurasian wigeon
Wilson's snipe
Short-billed dowitcher
Tree swallow
Violet-green swallow

Have a great weekend!

New camera!

2009-04-20T19:44:00.001-07:00

Woohoo!!! I finally saved up enough money to buy new a new camera!! The camera is a Nikon Coolpix P90. I was amazed by the zoom (24x) and the clarity of the images!

Enjoy!

A honey bee on a dandelion.

A scrub jay perched in a nearby tree.

Just a dandelion.

The daisies are abundant in Greenway.

Another dandelion.

These honey bees are in a tree right behind our fence!

I caught this guy on our patio roof.

And these are just some pretty flowers.

The Japanese maples are full now.

The female bushtit perched next to her nest.

Munching on cherry blossoms?

Have a good week! :-)

First red-tail baby!

2009-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

YAY! The first red-tailed hawk nestling from downtown Portland hatched!!
If you want to see it go to,
http://www.kgw.com/raptorcam/?nvid=226982&live=yes

Mallard ducklings.

2009-04-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.

I just thought you might enjoy seeing this mallard duckling accompanied by it's parents!

And away they go!

Bird list for the short birding trip,

Mallard
Ruddy duck
Bufflehead
Green-winged teal
Cinnamon teal
Western Canada goose
Cackling goose
Marsh wren
Song sparrow
Killdeer
American robin
Great-blue heron
Short-billed dowitcher
Wilson's snipe
Canvasback
Lesser scaup
Greater scaup
American coot
Bewick's wren
Violet-green swallow
Tree swallow
Gadwall
Yellow-rumped warbler
Black capped chickadee
Golden-crowned sparrow
Northern shoveler
Bushtit
European starling
Red-winged blackbird
American crow
Western scrub jay
Northern flicker
Pied-billed grebe
Ring-necked duck
Spotted towhee
American goldfinch
Lesser goldfinch
Mourning dove
House finch
English house sparrow
Dark-eyed junco
Ruby-crowned kinglet

A pleasant surprise!

2009-04-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

This morning we found out that one of the pairs of bushtits are building a nest in a tree within four feet of our window! They have been building ever since!

The male bushtit sitting in the incomplete nest.

The male again.

What a pleasant surprise!

Tryon creek state park.

2009-04-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Tryon creek state park to look at trillium's.

Some red flowering currents.

An owl box for northern saw-whet owls.

A trillium.

More trillium's.

What are these?

A female hairy woodpecker!

It sure is trillium season!

Thought this would be a pretty picture.

A huge slug.

We had never seen these before! They look cool!

Bird list for the trip,

Hairy woodpecker
Ruby crowned kinglet
Steller's jay
Western scrub jay
Black capped chickadee
Winter wren
Spotted towhee
Song sparrow
Annas hummingbird (heard)
Rufous hummingbird (heard)
Red breasted nuthatch (heard)

End of season for PFW.

2009-04-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Western scrub jay - 2
Black capped chickadee - 3
Song sparrow - 3
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 5
Bushtit - 12 (6 pairs at once)
Yellow-rumped warbler - 5
American crow - 7
American goldfinch - 7
Lesser goldfinch - 3
European starling - 1
Bewick's wren - 2
House finch - 3
Purple finch - 2
Rufous hummingbird - 2
Annas hummingbird - 1
American robin - 1
Downy woodpecker - 1
Red breasted nuthatch - 3
Northern flicker - 2
Violet-green swallow - 15

Raptor cam news!

2009-04-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

Check this out! Both the male and the female red-tailed hawk from downtown Portland! I read in my Audubon newsletter that the female has laid three eggs! Yeah!

Some more random wetland and park bird fun.

2009-04-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

Another fluffy yellow-rumped warbler.

The bushtits have started pairing up!

A pied-billed grebe.

Two ruddy ducks.

A great blue heron building a nest!

Short-billed dowitcher, (middle)? Wilson's snipe (left and right).

A mourning dove came for a visit.

This little female Rufous hummer was perched here right outside our window for around 45 minutes until flying to the feeders!

Do you have any idea what these flowers are?

A pretty tree.

One of the many mallards hanging out here.

New poll.

2009-04-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

A bushtit nest!

The next poll will be how many nests have you discovered in your area?

Hummingbirds.

2009-03-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

The hummingbirds have been "buzzing" around all of our feeders and flowers!

They are such a thrill!

One of the daily male Rufous.

One of the year-round female Annas.

One of our male Annas.

The first female Rufous of the season!

First of spring Rufous!!

2009-03-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I saw my first of season Rufous hummingbird!! Since then two males have become daily visitors to are feeders along with the Annas hummers. The Rufous seem a lot smaller than the Annas. This little guy was really thirsty!

What a pretty little bird.

Lewis and Clark trail.

2009-03-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today me and my family went to the end of the Lewis and Clark trail and then to Fort Clatsop.

This is the statue of Lewis and Clark at the end of their trail.

Entering Fort Clatsop.

A winter wren! A new life bird! I had hoped that I would get at least one life bird at the coast!

Common loons were abundant here! They are also life birds! There were no shortage of buffleheads either.

A statue inside the visitors center.

A canoe.

When they could, expedition members would relax in the evening with music and dance.

Thanks to Meriwether Lewis' mother, he knew much about herbs and plants. This came in very handy during the journey.

On the left is a stuffed Lewis' woodpecker. On the bottom is a stuffed chickaree, (or Douglas squirrel) and on the right is a stuffed Clark's nutcracker.

The captain's storage.

The Captain's quarters.

And finally, the outside of the fort.

List for birds on the day,

* = life bird.

Western canada goose
Cackling goose
Mallard
Common loon*
Pied - billed grebe
Great blue heron
Turkey vulture
Bald eagle
Red - tailed hawk
American kestrel
American coot
Herring gull*
Western gull
Glaucous - winged gull
Glaucous gull
Band - tailed pigeon
Rock dove (pigeon)
Mourning dove
Northern flicker
American crow
Violet - green swallow
Black - capped chickadee
White breasted nuthatch (heard)
Winter wren*
Marsh wren*
American robin
European starling
Brewer's blackbird

PFW Week 11

2009-03-22T13:05:00.001-07:00

House finch - 3
Lesser goldfinch - 2
Song sparrow - 3
Sharp shinned hawk - 1
Western scrub jay - 2
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 3
American crow - 4
Bewick's wren - 1
Glaucous gull - 6
Glaucous - winged gull - 5
American Robin - 2
European Starling - 1
Western gull - 1
Spotted towhee - 2
American goldfinch - 1
Annas hummingbird - 1
Mourning dove - 2
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Black capped chickadee - 3
Red-breasted nuthatch - 2
Bushtits - 6

Spring brings more life birds!

2009-03-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on a trip down to Newberg I had a great birding day, (even if it was only birding from the car). On the way to our destination we saw 1 steller jay, 3 chickadee, 1 robin, 1 western bluebird, 8 red-tailed hawks, 4 kestrels, 8 violet green swallows, 1 starling and 2 mourning dove. On the way back I got two life birds! I spotted a merlin perched on top of a tree! That was a life bird for me! Then, as we were driving past Greenway park, the unexpected happend. A male ring - necked pheasent flew over our car! What a surprise to see so many birds and life birds just from your car! What a day!

New poll.

2009-03-22T11:51:00.001-07:00

The results of last weeks poll on which squirrel is the cutest resulted in 2 votes for Kirk, 5 for the winner Stanley, 1 for fuzzy and 1 for the doofus squirrel.

The next poll will be what is your favorite place to bird?

Best day EVER at Koll wetlands!!

2009-03-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

The first day of spring brought the best day ever at Koll wetlands!! Upon getting there we saw the most birds that I've ever seen at the wetlands! Everywhere you looked there were ducks, geese, shorebirds, hawks, swallows, coots, warblers, herons, you name it!

These are some of the photos from our visit.

Look at the size of that goose!

A male ruddy duck back in his breeding plumage.

A very friendly killdeer.

Wait, what's that?

I think that's a Wilson's snipe! A life bird!

What are these? Do you know?

A female bufflehead.

A bufflehead party!

Buffleheads and greater scaups.

A pair of ring necked ducks.

One canvasback and three male ring necked ducks.

Lesser scaup and two shovelers.

A gadwall.

Geese.

* = life bird.

Pied - billed grebe
Mallard
Green winged teal
Western Canada goose
Cackling goose
Greater scaup
Lesser scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy duck
Ring - necked duck
Red tailed hawk
Violet - green swallow
Great egret
Great blue heron
Wilson's snipe *
Gadwall
Canvasback
Killdeer
Yellow rumped warbler
Black capped chickadee
Mourning dove
Northern shoveler
Song sparrow

Park flooding.

2009-03-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Greenway park is flooded. When it floods here it brings the ducks, geese, herons, etc. closer in. We got a nice surprise when we found a group of violet green swallows flying in the air and catching bugs. Swallows are common in the park but not at this time of year.

Anyway these are some of the birds that came in from the wetlands and maybe some other places.

Western Canada geese.

Cackling goose (left).

More cacklers.

Gadwalls (left) and mallard (right).

Look how high the creek is!

See the little whirl-pools?

Mallards.

Mostly cacklers.

You can't even see the beaver dam!

A pair of American wigeon (left) and a green winged teal (right).

Golden crowned sparrows.

Just some park and yard photos.

2009-03-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

The willow trees are starting to blossom!

Some daffodils.

A dandelion flower.

More flowers.

That dot next to the tree is a red tailed hawk.

Mallards.

A black kitty.

A red tailed hawk nest!

A hawk pellet.

I am proud to present a white breasted nuthatch!

A great blue heron.

A spotted towhee.

Song sparrow.

A robin and goldfinch.

A female red-winged blackbird.

The goldfinches are getting their summer plumage back!

Red tailed hawk nest!

2009-03-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

I had a look at the Audubon raptor cam set up on a downtown Portland red tailed hawk nest and a hawk is sitting up in the nest!

http://www.kgw.com/raptorcam/?nvid=226982&live=yes

New poll.

2009-03-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like it's time for a new poll. Thank you to everybody who voted. The results were 4: all of the above, and 1: platform.

The new poll will be in the same place.

Enjoy!

PFW Week 10

2009-03-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

House finch - 3
Red breasted nuthatch - 2
Lesser goldfinch - 1
American goldfinch - 2
Western scrub jay - 1
Spotted towhee - 1
Yellow rumped warbler - 2
American crow - 1
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 5
Bewick's wren - 1
Annas hummingbird - 1
Song sparrow - 1
Bushtits - 17
Downy woodpecker - 1
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
American robin - 1
Black capped chickadee - 2

More squirrel portraits.

2009-03-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

The doofus squirrel.

"Reggie"

The determined squirrel.

Great egret.

2009-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

A great egret in Greenway park.

Coots, gulls and crows.

2009-03-01T14:02:00.001-08:00

Lots of coots.

Unknown gulls and crows.

More coots.

Squirrel portraits for Sunday.

2009-03-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

"Kirk", my #1 arch nemesis.

"Fuzzy"

"Peanut Grey"

"Pig"

"Stanley"

"Wee spock", my #2 arch nemesis.

P.S. I would like to thank Michele (NW nature nut) for hosting the GBC of February. It was fun as always :-)

Mourning dove.

2009-02-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

A mourning dove eating the seed I put out.

Snow.

2009-02-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

This morning brought more snow to Portland. What a weird winter it has been! First we had all that snow in December. Then, flooding came in January. Once February came, Spring seemed to be here. And now, more snow.

New poll.

2009-02-25T15:46:00.001-08:00

Hi everybody! If you noticed, just for fun I added a poll to the sidebar. I thought it would be fun to try :-)

Have a good one!

Gull question..

2009-02-25T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today I saw a gull by our house that pretty much exactly matched this picture in my field guide. It had the same tail and it had the heavy beak and head. It also had the same pink legs and the pale grey colour. The picture shows a glaucous x herring gull. Do you think that was what it was?

PFW Week 9

2009-02-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 11
Yellow rumped warbler - 1
Western scrub jay - 2
House finch - 2
American crow - 3
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Black capped chickadee - 2
Annas hummingbird - 2
American goldfinch - 2
Bewick's wren - 2
Bushtits - 28
American robin - 4
Red breasted nuthatch - 1
European starling - 2
Northern flicker - 1
Downy woodpecker - 1
Song sparrow - 1
Brown creeper - 1

A delayed memorial.

2009-02-22T15:20:00.001-08:00

Pine siskin
Found - December 2008 - Died - December 2008.

Golden crowned sparrows.

2009-02-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

Lots of golden crowned sparrows around.

A special visit!

2009-02-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Friday, I spotted a peregrine falcon flying by our house! It was very special to see one because I know falcon population is decreasing. I sure hope we will start seeing more peregrine's soon.

Have a good week!

Spring is in the air.

2009-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Spring is almost here!

Tualitan River NWR for the GBBC!

2009-02-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

Great backyard bird count day #3, Tualitan River National Wildlife Refuge.

Bald eagle - 2
Bufflehead - 6
Northern shoveler - 3
Ruddy duck - 3
Barrow's goldeneye - 17
Canada goose - 60
Ring necked duck - 6
Lesser scaup - 1
Northern pintail - 2
American wigeon - 10
Eurasian wigeon - 5
American coot - 6
Killdeer - 2
American kestrel - 1
Western bluebird - 1
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Mallards - 3
Great blue heron - 2
Hooded merganser - 2
Red tailed hawk - 1
American goldfinch - 2
Turkey vulture - 1
Black capped chickadee - 1
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 1
Double crested cormorant - 1
Tree swallow - 2
Cackling geese - 71
Western scrub jay - 2

Time spent watching: 1.5 hours.

P.S. I have video of some birds so I will post it as soon as I edit it.

GBBC count day #1

2009-02-13T17:01:00.000-08:00

Koll wetlands, starting at 3:15,

Canvasback - 2
Ruddy duck - 8
Green winged teal - 4
American coot - 5
Canada geese - 95
Common merganser - 8
Glaucous winged gull - 1
Great blue heron - 3
Western sandpiper - 9
Pied billed grebe - 1
Common goldeneye - 1
Northern shoveler - 2
Bufflehead - 1
Gadwall - 2

Time spent watching: 20 minutes.

My backyard, starting at 3:45,

Black capped chickadee - 3
Northern flicker - 2
Western scrub jay - 2
Red breasted sapsucker - 1
Red breasted nuthatch - 2
Bewick's wren - 1
Townend's Warbler - 1
Yellow rumped warbler - 4
House finch - 12
American robin - 1
Lesser goldfinch - 1
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 15
Downy woodpecker - 1
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Song sparrow - 2
American crow - 3
Glaucous winged gull - 1
European starling - 10
Canada geese - 41 (FO)
Spotted towhee - 1
American goldfinch - 3
Red winged blackbird - 1
Bushtits - 34
Anna's hummingbird - 1

Time spent watching: 1 hour.

I look forward to seeing your count!

GBBC!

2009-02-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts today! I'm going to go to Koll Wetlands for today's count. I'll post about the first day as soon as I can.

Good luck to everyone!

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

PFW Week 8

2009-02-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

American crow - 1
Western scrub jay - 2
Black capped chickadee - 5
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 15
Song sparrow - 3
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Bushtits - 34
Bewick's wren - 1
Brown creeper - 1
House finch - 3
European starling - 4
Red breasted nuthatch - 1
American goldfinch - 1
Annas Hummingbird - 1
Spotted towhee - 1
Yellow rumped warbler - 1
Townend's warbler 1
Northern flicker - 1
Downy woodpecker - 1
American robin - 1

GBC alert!

2009-02-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST SAW A WHITE BREASTED NUTHATCH ON A TREE IN OUR YARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'VE WAITED 6 MONTHS AND 8 DAYS FOR THIS BIRD AND HERE IT IS !!!! I just can't believe it! Wait, ARE YOU KIDDING ME ?!? That's a red breasted sapsucker! Another bird I have never seen. I just can't believe it!

Raptor Road Trip!

2009-02-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

On Feb. 7 we went to the Raptor Road Trip on Sauvie Island! When we got there we drove past some cormorants near the Sauvie Island bridge. Then we got some information and set out right away to the first viewing spot. Upon arriving at the first place the first thing we saw as soon as we got out of our car was a flock of sandhill cranes!

At the top of the hill we saw two adult bald eagles and their nest, tundra swans and a couple other birds such as jays. Then, on to the second viewing spot. I've never seen so many snow geese in my life! There must have been thousands of them all making a HUGE racket! Between the places there must have been a raptor on every other tree! I've never seen so many eagles, hawks and other raptors!

On our walk up to the third and final viewing spot, we saw more cranes, geese, an eagle, two harriers and some others. When we arrived at the end of the trail we were surprised to see Laura, (aka Birdnerd) from Laura goes birding! She told us that earlier they saw a prairie falcon tear apart a bird :-0! Then we saw another bald eagle, more cranes, a yellow rumped warbler, a downy woodpecker, and some more Canada geese. After a little while we headed back to our car and made our way back to check out the Audubon's Society's education birds.

So that was the story of our trip around the viewing spots. I will tell the rest of the story with some pictures.

Enjoy :-)

This bald eagle was right next to the road.

This was taken through my new binoculars - a bald eagle in its nest.

These were sandhill cranes at viewing spot #3.

Hazel the northern spotted owl - one of Audubon's education birds.

Meet Finnegan the peregrine falcon.

Aristophanes the common raven.

Bird list for the day.

Double crested cormorants
Sandhill cranes
Bald eagle
Red tailed hawk
American kestrel
Snow geese
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco
Tundra swans
Black capped chickadee
American coot
Western scrub jay
Yellow rumped warbler
Downy woodpecker
Common merganser
Northern harrier
Canada geese
American robin
Gull
European starling
American crow
Turkey vulture

GBC of February.

2009-02-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

I'm in a bit of a stand still with birds so I thought I would post a couple of my best photos taken through my new Nikon Action binoculars of the first five days of the GBC of February!

Enjoy :-)

Have a good one!

GBC of February!

2009-02-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

The GBC of February starts today! It's been a great count day for me so far! You can see my list on the sidebar.

Good luck!

PFW Week 7

2009-01-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

Bushtits - 23
Yellow rumped warbler - 2
Dark eyed (Oregon) junco - 5
Song sparrow - 2
Black capped chickadee - 2
Red breasted nuthatch - 1
House finch - 3
Bewick's wren - 1
Ruby crowned kinglet - 1
Lincoln's sparrow - 1
Sharp shinned hawk - 1
Anna's hummingbird - 1
Western scrub jay - 1

Surprise at Koll Wetlands

2009-01-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

Today I went on a bird walk with Tualatin Parks and Rec. Ranger Kelly. She took us to Koll Wetlands to see the birds there. We met at the Fanno Farmhouse before the walk. Right before we went over to the wetlands we saw two bald eagles!!
After they flew away we walked over to our viewing spot. I was excited to see my first ever bufflehead!!! While looking at all the ducks and waterfowl we got a BIG SURPRISE!

A bald eagle swooped in after a green winged teal! This is just a fraction of the action. He came in out of nowhere and sent all the birds away. He dove in after the teal several times before I was able to start shooting the video.

List for bird walk,

Gadwall
Green winged teal
Bufflehead
Northern Shoveler
Mallard
American Coot
Pied billed Grebe
Common Merganser
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Canada Geese
Red tailed hawk

My Florida Diary - Part 1: Sandhill Cranes

2009-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post some of my memories from when I lived in Florida. One of my favorite birds I used to see a lot of was sandhill cranes. I used to see them all around town, at the zoo (in an area where they were free to come and go), by a lake near my friend's house and at my sister's flute teacher's house.

Here is a sandhill crane with her newly hatched baby. We saw them at the Brevard Zoo in an area called Native Florida. This area has a small pond where local wildlife can come and go freely. There was a pair of sandhill cranes that nested there.

This must be one of his first times trying to stand up because he wasn't very strong yet. He only lasted a few seconds on his feet, but he still made it.

This is at my sister's flute teacher's house. While she was having a lesson, I went outside and spotted a pair of cranes. They visited here frequently.

While I was sitting there, one of them decided to start checking out this fake heron. He even pecked it's tail a couple of times ;-)

I followed them to the edge of this pond and sat down next to them before I went back inside the porch.

I've always loved sandhill cranes and I look forward to seeing them again.

Ridgefield NWR!!!!

2009-01-22T15:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!
Saturday we finally went to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge!!
While we were there we only went around the auto tour but we still had a great time. I was really looking forward to going there and it certainly didn't let us down!

On our way into the refuge, we spotted this coyote foraging for lunch. It looked pretty scraggly and slim.

This was one of the many herons that we saw. We ended up seeing 30 herons by the time we reached the end.

At first I didn't spot this raptor. Then after looking through the binoculars, I could identify that it was a rough-legged hawk. This picture was actually taken through the binoculars.

We saw three bald eagles flying in and out of this tree. There were two immature eagles (like this one) and one mature eagle with a nice white head.

This was the first nutria that we've ever seen. He was virtually ignoring us, just chowing down on something on the ground.

I couldn't even count how many swans there were. You can't see them in this picture, but just swimming along next to the swans was a pair of otters.

When we were near the end of the car loop, we saw a very spectacular show of an eagle taking on both herons and this red-tailed hawk! The herons and the hawk were hunting for the many voles and mice in this field.

Well here we are at the end. It was a really nice sunny day which produced this fantastic photo op.

Here is my list from our drive through the Ridgefield car loop.

American crow - 5
Bald eagle - 4
Rough-legged hawk - 2
Great blue heron - 30
Northern harrier - 4
Snow geese - 100s!
Canada geese - 100s!
Tundra Swans - too many to count
Northern Pintail - 8
American coot - 16
Northern Shoveler - 4
Golden crown sparrow - 3
Black capped chickadee - 2
Double-crested cormorant - 2
Ruddy Duck - 82!
Common merganser - 7
Mallard - 14
Red-tailed hawk - 3

Bonus animals

Nutria - 1
Mice - lots!
Vole - lots!
River otter - 2

PFW Week 6

2009-01-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Black Capped Chickadee 4
Annas Hummingbird 1
House Finch 7
Lesser Goldfinch 1
Yellow Rumped Warbler 2
Dark eyed (Oregon) Junco 11
Song Sparrow 1
Red Breasted Nuthatch 2
Western Scrub Jay 1
Bewick's Wren 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
European Starling 2
Bushtits 14
American Goldfinch 4
Spotted Towhee 1
Townsend's Warbler 1

Squirrel Flipping Part 1

2009-01-19T16:02:00.000-08:00

Yes! This is the first time I've caught on video the Yankee Flipper in action!

It's not the best quality because it had to be taken with our little snapshot camera but here it is.

PFW Week 5

2009-01-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

House Finch 6
Black Capped Chickadee 1
Dark eyed (Oregon) Junco 12
Annas Hummingbird 1
Red Breasted Nuthatch 4
European Starling 3
Song Sparrow 3
Spotted Towhee 2
Lesser Goldfinch 1
Townsend's Warbler 1
Bushtits 23
Downy Woodpecker 1
Western Scrub Jay 1
Northern Flicker 1
American Crow 14

Pictures from Greenway park.

2009-01-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures from Greenway Park today.

Just some Mallards hanging out.

Now here's something I've never seen before! Two Flickers at the same time!

It's snowing right now so hopefully that will bring the Varied Thrush again ;-)

Have good birding and stay warm!
Bye.

Greenway flood brings Beaver for new year.

2009-01-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well, we can say hello to 2009 by welcoming a semi flood in Greenway Park.

Look at that. Geese, Northern Shovelers, Teals, Herons, Egrets, Mallards, and a wide variety of ducks!

Cool! It's an expanded Wetlands!

Sorry for the low quality pictures but they had to be taken by my Dad's cell phone.

On the way back from "The Beaver bridge" we saw something furry swimming.
What could that be? That's a Beaver! No that's a Nutrea. Oh, it could just be a log. But wait! Look! That's a Beaver!
BEAVER!! YAY!!

Thanks for reading!

Yankee Flipper.

2009-01-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is a House finch and Nuthatch on my new Yankee Flipper I got for Christmas.

Happy New Year!!!

PFW Week 4

2008-12-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO!

Check out this Varied Thrush!!

All of a sudden he came out of nowhere!!!

PFW Week 4 list:

Varied Thrush 1

Ruby crowned Kinglet 1

Red breasted Nuthatch 2

Song Sparrow 2

Bewick's Wren 1

Dark eyed (Oregon) Junco 11

Yellow Rumped Warbler 2

Western Scrub Jay 2

Black Capped Chickadee 1

Bushtits 4

Annas Hummingbird 1

House Finch 6

Lesser Goldfinch 1

Northern Flicker 1

Winter Warbler, Five Fat Squirrels, and My Snowman.

2008-12-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

This is my first full size snowman!

Check out this Townsend's Warbler!

Another photo of the Warbler.

Five fat squirrels shoving their faces in food.

Happy Holidays!

Starlings in the snow.

2008-12-21T14:32:00.001-08:00

Raptor Quiz answer, Snowy Squirrels and of course, birds.

2008-12-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

The answer to the Raptor quiz is....... RED TAILED HAWK! :-)

Snow snow and more snow. It just keeps coming down!

This is what we woke up to this morning.

Meet "Stanley"! our largest Squirrel.

"Stanley" again.

A Bewick's Wren on our patio.

The Park is still covered in snow.

PFW Week 3

2008-12-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lesser Goldfinch 3
Black Capped Chickadee 5
Ruby Crowned Kinglet 1
Dark Eyed (Oregon) Junco 10
Downy Woodpecker 2
House Finch 3
Annas Hummingbird 2
European Starling 5
Song Sparrow 2
Red Breasted Nuthatch 1
American Crow 5
Bewick's Wren 1
Yellow Rumped Warbler 1
Western Scrub Jay 1
Bushtits 15
American Goldfinch 3

Winter Wildlife!

2008-12-15T14:33:00.001-08:00

Yesterday it snowed all throughout the day and there is still snow on the ground now! We had fun and here are some pictures.

Enjoy!

See the Squirrel?

Look at all those footprints!

The Juncos, other birds and Squirrels were, and still are hanging around on the patio eating the millet and peanut pieces we put out for them. They are sheltering here until the snow lets up and the weather forecast says we are going to get more snow on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Thanks for reading,
Bye.

P.S. If you still have Hummingbirds around, make sure to keep the feeders from freezing.
Here are some useful tips about cold weather tips.
http://www.backyardbirdshop.com/

Pine Siskin update!

2008-12-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Well, when we got home from getting suet from the Backyard Bird Shop we got an update on the Pine Siskin from the Audubon Society.
They said that he is eating and active, but his wing is broken.

So that's good that he is doing well and staying healthy!

I guess that we will just have to wait and see how it turns out for him, and if he will be able to be released back into the wild.

Good luck little Siskin!!

Siskin goes to Audubon.

2008-12-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Last night, a new Pine Siskin was taken to the Audubon Society of Portland's care center.
We brought it in after I found the little guy hopping around on the ground under one of our feeders, trying to find any food possible, for he could not fly.
I ran back into the house after I figured out what was wrong and called the Audubon Society, they told us to bring the bird in.
I got a cardboard box, a piece of green silk, and some thistle seed (Nyjer). I then laid down the silk inside the box, sprinkled the seed on top of the silk and put the little guy in the box.
We got there safely with the Siskin and the guy at Audubon looked at the bird, then took him into the vet right away. He told us that there was another Siskin who had been brought in recently so they might put the two birds together!
So, the little Pine Siskin is now safe and sound at the care center, with a friend, at the Audubon Society of Portland.

Red Winged Blackbirds.

2008-11-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, here are the pictures of the Red Winged Blackbirds that came to the yard on PFW Week 2!

Well, some more Blackbirds showed up today so I guess the wait for the ever elusive RW Blackbird is over!

PFW Week 2

2008-11-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Wheew!

What a count day! Check out this list! (Complete post and photos coming soon).

Western Scrub Jay 2
Red Breasted Nuthatch 2
Black Capped Chickadee 3
House Finch 4
Dark Eyed (Oregon) Junco 6
Bewick's Wren 1
Song Sparrow 2
Annas Hummingbird 1
Spotted Towhee 2
American Crow 1
American Goldfinch 3
Northern Flicker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pine Siskin 15
Bushtits 62
Red Winged Blackbird 26
European Starling 1

Raptor Quiz and Koll Wetlands

2008-11-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, here is the quiz. What are these two Raptors?
Be sure to leave a comment with your answer.

Now, while you're finding the quiz out here is some action from Koll Wetlands.

This is a panoramic photo from the rock table that is there.

A Song Sparrow by the water.

Mallards going in the water.

When I reached the bank of the pond I accidentally scared away this Green Heron.
Can you see him?

Great Blue Heron and Mallards.

Great Egret and Common Mergansers.

Great Egret.

Common Mergansers.

Great Blue Heron where the Otters were.

Northern Shovelers, Common Mergansers, Double Crested Cormorants, Ring Necked Ducks and Mallards.

Hawks Hawks and more Hawks!

2008-11-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

What is it with Hawks lately?
We have had two visits from Coopers Hawks and one from the Sharp Shinned Hawk recently.
Plus I was reading that Seth and Michelle from Portland Oregon Backyard Birds have had 40 or so visits from their local Sharpie, and I think two from the Coopers!
Is it always like this?
I have not yet been through the full cycle of Northwest birds yet so I don't know if it's just an easy meal because there are so many birds in winter? I don't know yet but as soon as summer comes I should know :-)

Sharped Shinned Hawk.

2008-11-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to a Sharp Shinned Hawk on our fence.
He went down on the ground Where the Sparrows roost. Then all of a sudden he spotted a Junco and attacked it. With swift moves the Junco darted over to a nearby tree. But the hawk was not done yet. He then Lunged himself at the Junco. Again with Swift Moves the Junco Escaped, (NICE JOB JUNCO!!!!!!! WELL DONE!!!!!!!). Then our Biggest ( probably around five pounds or so) Squirrel climbed up on the fence. I was going to get video of the Junco's escape, but my sister RAN over to the sliding glass door as fast as she could and scared away the hawk. ( I assured her that a little 10 inch Sharpie was less likely to fly off with a five pound squirrel then the hoard of birds on the patio right in front of him, not to mention the escape against one of our local Red Tailed Hawks the Squirrel had Back in October). "But I didn't want "Stanley" to get eaten".
Okay it just means more birds on the Patio :-)

P.S. Hope you don't wake up to this happening :-)

Have a good day and happy birding!

Project Feeder Watch!

2008-11-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

I just got done with the first two days of Project Feeder Watch!
Here is my list.

American Goldfinch: 7
Spotted Towhee: 2
Dark Eyed ("Oregon") Junco: 22
Song Sparrow: 4
Red Breasted Nuthatch: 3
House Finch: 5
Anna's Hummingbird: 3
Western Scrub Jay: 2
Black Capped Chickadee: 3
Downy Woodpecker: 2
Lesser Goldfinch: 3
Bewick's Wren: 1
Northern Flicker: 1
Pine Siskin: 1
Bushtits: 34

Time spent watching: 1-4 Hours.

Tualatin River NWR

2008-11-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge back in September.

We started here at the new nature center, (which they did a very good job on) and then went on the trail.

This turned out as a nice picture of the river.

On our way back to the car we stumbled upon this little guy.

HaHa its good to have a hybrid in Oregon.

Bird list for that day:

Western Scrub Jay
Stellers Jay
Black Capped Chickadee
Red Breasted Nuthatch
Canada Geese
American Goldfinch
Mystery Bird
Red Tailed Hawk
Bewick's Wren.

Long lost Blackbirds!

2008-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Finally! When I went on a walk in Greenway park I saw a big flock of Red Winged Blackbirds!
I haven't seen a single Red Winged Blackbird since before we bought our house!
They were perched up in a tree making their "coonkaree" sound to each other. I was beginning to think that back in June was the last time I was going to see one of those guys, but thankfully not!

Things have been pretty much the same in our yard, but the birds like the Squirrel Buster Mini so much that I have to fill it up almost every day! By about 10:00 AM, the feeder is picked clean by all the birds, (not the squirrels)!

Perfect timing on the Project Feeder Watch people's part. I just got my forms in today and on starting day too.

Have good, happy birding and if you signed up for PFW have a good time!
Bye.

Aaah the good life of a birder...

2008-11-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Aaah yes the yard is teeming with birds once again, Nuthatches, cute little Chickadees including those adorable, tiny little Chestnut backed Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers, the long lineup of winter Sparrows, Juncos, Kinglets, Bushtits, Towhees, Hummingbirds, first time new arrival a Yellow r....Hey! AAARG! you have got to be kidding!!

November backyard bird count as of Nov. 4:

1) American crow
2) American Goldfinch
3) Brown Creeper
4) Black Capped Chickadee
5) Chestnut Backed Chickadee
6) Scrub Jay
7) Gull (FO)
8) Coopers hawk
9) Downy Woodpecker
10) Hairy Woodpecker
11) Ruby Crowned Kinglet
12) Red Breasted Nuthatch
13) Bushtits
14) Spotted Towhee
15) Song sparrow
16) Bewick's Wren
17) Golden Crowned Sparrow
18) Junco
19) House Finch
20) Purple Finch
21) Lesser Goldfinch
22) Yellow Rumped Warbler
23) Canada Goose (FO)
24) Northern Flicker
25) Pine Siskin
26) Fox Sparrow
27) Anna's Hummingbird

P.S. I didn't see some of these birds until I got the Brome Squirrel Buster Mini for Only $26.99! Thanks Backyard Bird Shop!!!!!
Bye.

Great October Bird Count

2008-11-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

1) Black-Capped Chickadee
2) Scrub Jay
3) Steller’s Jay
4) Red breasted nuthatch
5) Bewick’s wren
6) Dark eyed junco
7) House finch
8) Purple finch
9) Bushtits
10) American goldfinch
11) Mourning dove
12) Lesser goldfinch
13) Anna’s hummingbird
14) Spotted towhee
15) Song sparrow
16) White crowned sparrow
17) American crow
18) Red tailed hawk (FO)
19) Northern flicker
20) American robin
21) Downy woodpecker
22) Hairy woodpecker
23) Common raven
24) Cedar waxwing
25) House wren
26) Tree swallow
27) Canada goose (FO)
28) Mallard (FO)
29) House sparrow
30) Wood duck (FO)
31) Pigeon (FO)
32) Great blue heron (FO)
33) Pine siskin
34) Coopers hawk (FO)
35) Chestnut-backed chickadee
36) Belted kingfisher
37) Osprey (FO)
38) Golden crowned sparrow
39) Mountain chickadee
40) Brown Creeper
41) Ruby Crowned Kinglet
42) Nashville Warbler

GOBC fun!

2008-11-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

WOW! What Fun!!
Thanks Northwest Nature Nut for hosting the Great Bird Count of October! It was really fun counting all the birds and making new backyard and blogger friends! Are you doing this next year?

Thanks to everybody else for keeping me entertained all the way through October with your bird lists. I was checking almost every day to see what birds you were seeing at your house.
It was great fun and I don't want it to be over.

Well, I signed up for Project Feeder Watch and it looks fun so I will be occupied with that :-)

When we wait for the PFW good luck and good birding.
Cheers!

My Owl Jack-o-Lantern

2008-10-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here's my jack-o-lantern for this year. I wanted to do an owl because of the owl I love to see in Greenway Park.

Coopers hops in chimney at Chapman!

2008-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a a video of the Vaux swift migration at Chapman Elementary School in September.

It was a cloudy, gloomy evening as the swifts gathered outside.
The people started coming as well as the Audubon society of Portland for the swift watch.

Some of the swifts started going in the chimney a little early which was a little unusual, (I think their timing got a little thrown off by the bad weather). Despite the weather there was still plenty of birds.

There was a few Peregrine falcons flying about but not much pursuit.

All of a sudden as the swifts got to full force in came an adult Coopers Hawk!
He just sat there perched on the chimney waiting very patiently for a meal.
After awhile, all of a sudden he hopped down in the chimney and amazingly we got it on video!

Here it is,
Enjoy!

Lots of Pine Siskins continued

2008-10-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

Here is some video of our first Pine Siskin!

Lots of change on the greenway trail.

2008-10-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

After seeing Chickadees, Nuthatches, Hummingbirds, Pine Siskins, Goldfinches, Bushtits, Towhees, Downy Woodpeckers, a Flicker, Purple finches, House finches, Jays, Crows, Juncos, Song sparrows, Golden Crowned Sparrows, The occasional flock of Geese and even our first ever Brown creeper, we went on a walk on the Greenway trail. Here are some pictures from our walk.

A big yellow tree by the Fanno Farmhouse.

Just a pretty red tree

An abandoned beaver dam.

This is a blurry photo of a Great Blue Heron we saw.

Lots of Pine Siskins

2008-10-24T16:27:00.001-07:00

There where a bunch of Pine Siskins Wednesday morning!
They were everywhere, in fact there must have been over 20 of them in the yard at the same time! It was a big surprise because we never got any Siskins at all, we just got lots and lots of Goldfinches every day.

I did manage to get one of them on video Tuesday and that is coming soon.
In the meantime good luck on the GBCO and good birding :-)

More Photos

2008-10-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

Bushtits enjoying some suet.

Some Goldfinches eating lunch

Backyard Photos

2008-10-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of backyard bird photos! Click for larger image.

Spotted Towhee on the platform feeder.

Purple Finch (?) and Oregon Junco.

More photos coming soon!

oaks bottom wildlife refuge.

2008-10-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Welcome to the first post of Beaverton Bird Blog!
This first post is about my birding trip to Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in Portland.

Enjoy!

I saw CHESTNUT BACKED CHICKADEES! as well as black capped chickadees, A Song Sparrow, an Anna's hummingbird, (well, heard it at least :) ) and the place is infested with woolly bear caterpillars and red squirrels!
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me at the time so I couldn't take any pictures.

Oh well. Anyway thanks for reading the first post of Beaverton Bird Blog.

Happy birding!