After adding life birds at a fast pace the first ten days of the trip, birding slowed down a bit after returning to Oregon City. I had a wonderful time at my economics conference, meeting new people, reconnecting with old friends, and presenting a paper....even though there was limited birding.
During the week I had evening walks around the golf course. Band-tailed Pigeons* visited Steven and Aubrey's yard, but unfortunately were not tame enough to give a good photo opportunity. Christine and I visited Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach one afternoon, spotting Tufted Puffins* and Brown Pelicans* in constant rain before heading back to Oregon City.
Time flew by quickly in Oregon City, which culminated with a hike at Salmon Creek in Mt Hood National Forest on July 4th and catching "shaker" sturgeons on the Willamette the next day before heading off on our drive back east toward Minnesota.
After a bit of deliberation we ended up birding Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the drive back east in addition to birding it our first day on the drive west. The weather was much kinder this time around, offering us opportunities to take pictures of Western Grebes, Purple Martins (Male on post and female in flight in addition to the photo below), Upland Sandpipers, and Swainson's Hawks. We did not find any new life birds on the drive back, but I guess that would have been asking too much. Attempting to take pictures of flying purple martins was hilarious, but then again maybe it was sleep deprivation.
During the week I had evening walks around the golf course. Band-tailed Pigeons* visited Steven and Aubrey's yard, but unfortunately were not tame enough to give a good photo opportunity. Christine and I visited Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach one afternoon, spotting Tufted Puffins* and Brown Pelicans* in constant rain before heading back to Oregon City.
Time flew by quickly in Oregon City, which culminated with a hike at Salmon Creek in Mt Hood National Forest on July 4th and catching "shaker" sturgeons on the Willamette the next day before heading off on our drive back east toward Minnesota.
After a bit of deliberation we ended up birding Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the drive back east in addition to birding it our first day on the drive west. The weather was much kinder this time around, offering us opportunities to take pictures of Western Grebes, Purple Martins (Male on post and female in flight in addition to the photo below), Upland Sandpipers, and Swainson's Hawks. We did not find any new life birds on the drive back, but I guess that would have been asking too much. Attempting to take pictures of flying purple martins was hilarious, but then again maybe it was sleep deprivation.
What a trip. I absolutely loved all the new birds, knowing that I likely missed as many as I observed in each location.
2 comments:
That crazy hummingbird came to feed at the lucifer while Abi and I stood and watched him just 6 ft away! He was definitely greenish with a white/gray breast.
Very nice photos! Also, the blog overall is set up very well :)
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