Winter at Sauvie Island

Sauvie Island is a wildlife oasis about 10 miles northwest of downtown Portland. It may be well-known to some for its pumpkin patches and corn mazes on the farms in the fall. But many others enjoy it for its land set aside as a wildlife area. In the winter, this place is teaming with birds. Earlier in the winter, there can be thousands of Snow Geese mixed in with Canada and Cackling Geese. 

Tons of Snow Geese from December 2014

Snow Geese coming in for a landing - December 2014

Later in the winter, the Snow Geese have gone, and the island is dominated by Sandhill Cranes. They winter there in large numbers, filling the fields to the brim with their big, shaggy gray bodies. The lovely sounds of their bugle call fills the skies and grasslands. They sure are a sight for sore eyes for us former Floridians. South Florida had resident populations, and it was not too uncommon to see these guys just hanging about the wetlands or even business parking lots!

Sandhill Cranes in a field

Coon Point has a dike where you can overlook a lake and open fields. The highlight when we last visited in late February was a pair of nesting Bald Eagles. They would fly from the nest to a perch just off of the main walking trail right in front of the parking area. One could easily spot them driving down the road. The morning fog made for some moody pics of these majestic raptors.

One of the best spots to bird on Sauvie Island is the viewing platform overlooking a lake that is chock full of waterfowl. On our recent visit, there were lots of Canvasbacks (maybe the most we’ve seen in one spot?) and Tundra Swan. And among the honking of those Tundra Swans, we heard the unmistakable trumpet sounds of Trumpeter Swans! There were just a few hanging out, but we were able to locate these larger-bodied swans amongst the other white bodies in the lake. And this was the first time we’d actually heard these trumpet sounds in person, so it was quite a treat!

Tundra Swan

A couple of Trumpeter Swans

More Sandhill Cranes line the lake at this observation deck, and they fly over almost consistently. It really just never gets old seeing and hearing these guys. I could just watch them all day. They are just such a joy to be around.

Another hot spot of Sauvie Island is Rentenaar Road, or also fondly known as “sparrow road.” Some guy we ran into at a major sparrow viewing point (where people will often leave bird seed) mentioned that he had previously met a couple of ladies who counted up to 11 species of sparrow on that road! We had eight including: Song, Fox, White-Crowned, Golden-Crowned, Lincoln’s, and the hard-to-find White-Throated Sparrows, as well as Dark-Eyed Juncos and Spotted Towhees. We dipped on a Swamp Sparrow that was farther down the road that another birder had spotted just moments before we got there. And we did not get Savannah nor the elusive Harris’s Sparrow.  

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

White-Crowned Sparrow

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

We were super stoked about getting not just one, but THREE White-Throated Sparrows! This was an Oregon high count for this species for us. You can tell with at least the two individuals pictured below, the coloration is much warmer and muted in one, and very bright and vibrant in the other.

Sauvie Island is small in size, but you can definitely spend a full day birding out here. And when a non-rainy, winter’s day pops up, it’s a great way to take in the beautiful scenery and enjoy the sights and sounds of awesome wintering birds. 

A young Bald Eagle

Sandhill Cranes in flight

Abstract Art by a Sapsucker

Another original piece by a Sapsucker

Some fun fungi! Turkey Tails

The Pygmy-King of North Mountain

Last weekend we set out for an ambitious outing down near the Oregon/California border for our second annual trip to the Winter Wings Festival (a superb, excellently run small festival). Ordinarily we'd recount all our adventures chronologically, but on our fifth and final day we found a certain owl that's generated no small amount of interest, and I felt the need to write a timely account (at least compared with our usual leisurely blogging schedule).

Golden-crowned Sparrows

We spent Sunday night in Ashland with a few target birds in mind. Last year we found our lifer California Towhee at the Songer Wayside, along Emigrant Lake. We'd seen it for exactly as long as we needed to ID it, and not a split-second longer. We hoped we might have better luck this time, but an hour wading through the heavy fog turned up little more than Oak Titmice (Titmouses?) and Acorn Woodpeckers -- not that I'm complaining!

Foggy day at Songer Wayside

Oak Titmouse

But thank goodness we dipped on the towhee. We were ready with a back-up plan and headed for North Mountain Park, where they'd been reported in the past couple of days. We didn't expect much when we pulled in to a parking lot with a baseball diamond on one side, and a soccer field on the other. "This will be a quick stop," I thought. But the farther along the path we got, the more active it became. Through a scrubby thicket of buckbrush, I spotted a chunky bird that looked good for California Towhee. We tried entice it into the open, when a second towhee flew out in front of us, and then we got superb, unobstructed views of them both as they scratched around for worms. This would definitely be the bird of the day… for another five minutes.

California Towhee

Towhee butt

The path continued through an ethnobotanical garden, and I walked a few yards past Maureen as she paused to take photos of scouring rush. I noticed a good-sized fuzzball only 15 ft off to my side, in a tree inexplicably covered in white and pink ribbon. "What the hell?" I didn't even realize it was a bird at first. My brain slowly resolved the image, and I whistled back at Maureen to get her attention. I whispered, and mostly mouthed, "Pygmy-owl" just loudly to get the message back to her. She was skeptical, but gamely inched forward to where she could follow my eyes.

Northern Pygmy-owl

For a long, long time we watched the potato-sized owl take us in, along with the rest of its surroundings. Eventually it flew to another, farther part of the tree, but came back after a little while. It was definitely alert, and on the look-out. A pair of Lesser Goldfinches flew into a tree behind us, and the owl locked in immediately. Its body postured straight at them, with its head stretched up toward them. For a full minute, the owl readied itself for just the right moment, but when it finally moved in to strike, it missed its target by the slightest margin.

Pygmy-owl eyespots

Staying alert, looking for prey

Target acquired

Instead of flying off to safety, the goldfinches stood their ground and initiated their alarm call. In no time at all, they were joined by a Black-capped Chickadee, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a Bushtit, and they jointly harassed the owl and made clear that they wouldn't look favorably upon further attempts to predate them. Whether the owl decided to take its frustration out on us, I don't know, but it flew close by us on the way back to its original perch, and we decided that would be a good time move along.

"Move along, buddy"

We left Ashland for Agate Lake, a bit farther north, hoping for Lewis's Woodpecker, which we'd dipped on earlier in the day. There wasn't a whole lot going on, other than an immature Bald Eagle perched just over the entrance. A good-sized flock of meadowlarks passed back and forth for a while, but not close enough for pictures. But our last stop before heading home was at Rogue Creamery to pick up some souvenir cheese. We were glad for the chance to appreciate Oregon's state bird and Oregon dairy all at once!

Juvenile Bald Eagle