Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

Today, Michelle and I decided to go birding somewhere new. We have been all over the place, but we have never made it to Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. The rain was coming down and the wind was howling, and that was before we even left the house. I don't know what possessed us to go out into the yucky weather, but we are sure glad we did! 54 identified species today! (Species list at bottom of post)

Not only was the weather perfect, but we saw 2 new Life List birds! The rain was coming down in sheets as we drove out to TRNWR and we were expecting it to be a pretty miserable day, weather wise. By the time we arrived at TRNWR, the sun was out and it was fairly warm. The wind blew all day but not so much that it wasn't enjoyable.

Then, after we left the refuge, we stopped at Vanport Wetlands. We were just in time to see a Bald Eagle hunting the area for some dinner. We saw quite a few types of waterfowl, too.

Then, on the way home, we took Marine Drive. There were quite a few waterfowl along the river and a lot of raptors on the land side, one of the raptors was a juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk (pics below). Overall, it was a great day birding and a great day spent together!

Hope you enjoy the photos!


Here is the sign in the main entrance to Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge.


Here is just one of the countless gorgeous views at the refuge.


After searching the lower area, we hiked up to the Ridgetop Overlook. On the way back down the trail, we both spotted this Great Horned Owl coming in for a landing!


He was gorgeous. This was a Life List bird for us.

He sat there for about 5 minutes and then took off for parts unknown. But, not before we got about 40 photos of him.

A Western Bluebird. We saw quite a few of them on the trail just behind the Refuge Headquarters. Another Life List bird.

Another Western Bluebird.

And one more Bluebird for good measure.

On the way home, we took Marine Drive and found a ton of raptors. This juvenile (notice all the white) let us get so close. Exciting stuff!

One of the 4 bald Eagles we saw today. This guy has just a hint of color on the tail, so we assume that he is about as close to a full adult as possible.

One of the many groups of waterfowl we saw today. This group of Northern Pintails was at Vanport Wetlands.

The 54 species that we positively identified today:

Canada Goose

Cackling Goose

American Wigeon

Eurasian Wigeon

Mallard

Green-Winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Greater Scaup

Bufflehead

Ruddy Duck

Cormorant

Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Red-Tailed Hawk

Kestrel

Coot

Killdeer

Mew Gull

Herring Gull

Thayer's Gull

Rock Dove

Great-Horned Owl

Anna's Hummingbird

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Steller's Jay

Scrub-Jay

Crow

Tree Swallow

Black-Capped Chickadee

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee

Bushtit

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Bewick's Wren

Western Bluebird

Robin

Starling

Yellow-Rumped Warbler (both Audubon's and Myrtle)

Townsend's Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

White-Crowned Sparrow

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

Junco

Red-Winged Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

House Finch

Pine Siskin

Lesser Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow