Commonwelath Park and the yard

Today, Michelle and I went out to Commonwealth Park in Beaverton. It was just supposed to be a quick stop, but we ended up being there for quite a while.

Among the variety of birds, were a juvenile Green Heron (who let us get really close) and a Horned Grebe!

So here are some photos from the trip and a few others from the yard.
Good birding to all.


Here is the gorgeous juvenile Green Heron! He has been one of the most elusive birds for us. We catch quick glimpses, but we have never been able to stare at him.


Here he is staring right back at us!


Such a cool looking bird!


Please don't ask how many photos we actually took of this little guy.

Photo 9,215...

Showing off a bit for the camera.

I can't tell you how excited we were to finally find this bird!

A Horned Grebe. We've never found one at Commonwealth Lake before.

A Green-Winged Teal.

A beautiful American Wigeon.

An odd looking American Wigeon among some Mallards.

Here is the odd looking Wigeon out in the lake.

A female Wood Duck.

Some Steller's Jays filling up in the backyard.

A female Purple Finch.

A (blurry) Red-Breasted Sapsucker on the telephone pole in the backyard (yes really, in the backyard).

A first of season Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Audubon's).

Pics from the last few weeks

Here we go again, being bad bloggers. We haven't posted much this last month, except for a couple of new arrivals to the yard. We have been quite busy with our community organization We've Got Time to Help, that we don't post enough. So, here are some photos from our travels around Portland over the last few weeks and, as always, we hope you enjoy them!


A Killdeer behind Michelle's office in Beaverton.


A female Lesser Goldfinch eating some thistle.


A male American Goldfinch waiting his turn for some thistle.


A pair of Gadwalls at Oaks Bottom this past weekend.

A Bald Eagle surveying Lake Oswego.

A Bald Eagle at Oaks Bottom.

Another angle of the Oaks Bottom Eagle.

A Chestnut-Backed Chickadee gathering some nesting material.

Another photo of him (or her) getting some fluff.

One of our resident Golden-Crowned Sparrows.

A pair of Evening Grosbeaks in the backyard.

The male Evening Grosbeak in the apple tree.

An Osprey attacking a Bald Eagle at Oaks Bottom on Sunday.

A female Common Merganser scratching her head.

A Greater Yellowlegs in a pond behind Michelle's office in Beaverton.

A Ring-Necked Duck at Oaks Bottom.

A Red-Tailed Hawk above the house.

A male Red-Winged Blackbird at a pond near Vanport Wetlands in North Portland.

A male Wood Duck at Oaks Bottom.

A male Northern-Shafted Flicker in the backyard.

A male House Finch in the backyard.

An Osprey at Oaks Bottom last weekend.

Another Osprey at Camassia Wetlands in West Linn.

A female Anna's Hummingbird.

A Hutton's Vireo gathering nesting material at Camassia.

Another shot of the Hutton's with nesting material.

A Cooper's Hawk nest at Camassia a couple of weeks ago. Paul Sullivan led the walk around the area and we spotted this towards the end of the trail.

An Orange-Crowned Warbler at Camassia.

A rare Purple Finch in the backyard.