American White Pelican

Went out to Fernhill to see the white Pelican.  This time he was there. It was a beautiful morning. Can't believe it will be raining the rest of the week.

On May 2 Fernhill is closing for construction and won't open till Oct. 31. May be able to go around to Dabler Marsh area. I love going out there. Guess I'll have to go other places.

American White Pelican

Rufous Hummingbird

Western Grebe

No Pelicans

Yesterday (Tue)  Steve Nord reported White Pelicans at Fernhill Wetlands. Went out today (Wed)  to find them and they were gone.

Still had a good time. It was nice to get out in the air. Of course it started to rain and my hair went right to fuzz. Only women would understand that.

Saw most of the regulars.

The Swallows have returned. I saw a Cliff Swallow for the first time at Fernhill.

Tree Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

I am learning the difference in the Yellow-rumped Warblers. I think I have it clear now.

Yellow-rumped Warbler Myrtle (white throat)

Yellow-rumped Warbler Audubon's (yellow throat)

Rogers Park

Drove by Rogers Park in Forest Grove. Went to do things for my mom and didn't have enough time to go to Fernhill so I drove by Rogers park to see the Acorn Woodpeckers. They are so cute to watch. They fly off and come back with their little treasures and fill the holes in the tree. They never disappoint me.

I sat there for about 20 minutes watching them. So relaxing.


"Hey ma, look what I found"

"Hey guys, you gotta come see what I found!"

Commonwealth Lake

Went out to Commonwealth Lake with Sabrina and Daphne last Monday.  The first nice day in a while. The gardeners were out mowing the lawn and I could hardly hear any of the birds. We managed to see a few.

Of course saw my favorite little Cedar Waxwings.  Sabrina had only seen my photos so she was surprised to see how small they were. That was also my first reaction. They are so cute.  Daphne couldn't see them but was able to see the 5 resident White Fronted Geese. She just giggled and laughed. We had a really nice walk.

MISS DAPHNE AT THE PARK

BIG GIRL IS WALKING

CEDAR WAXWING

WHITE FRONTED GEESE

Wild Turkey / Not The Drink

Spending the week-end with Ron and Cheryl in Merlin Oregon. Just north of Grants Pass. I asked Dennis Vroman for advice on where to look during this rain storm. Not sure I wanted to get soaked. He asked me what birds I was interested in. I told him one on my list was Wild Turkey. I had never seen one in the wild. He suggested a few places. As I was coming down the freeway and hit the Hugo exit there was a small group of turkeys. I thought how funny that was.

Today Cheryl and went I out for the day. We saw a lot of turkeys. They seem to be everywhere. Cheryl got excited when we almost hit a Turkey Vulture that was having lunch in the middle of the road on some fresh roadkill.  We turned around to get a place to park.

I got out of the car to get a picture and there were about 10 of them right above my head waiting for their turn to dine. A little bit strange. We sat in the car for a while and one of them came into the road and we both got pictures. It was pretty cool.

            Turkey Vulture

 

Wild Turkey

We did see one thing I thought was interesting.  Last year when I was here we saw two Ospry nests on the top of the Robertson Bridge. Today the same nests are there but there seems to be a Canada Goose that has taken up residence there. Not sure if it's using the nest or what. My friend Cheryl says the goose has been up there for a while. I sent an email to Dennis to see if he knew anything about it. Haven't heard back yet.

All in all it was a good day. We had to stop several times because it would start to rain. When I come back in May it should be better weather.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker / YES

Finally got to see the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Just took a ride out after Sabrina got off work. It was beautiful out and the last day of sun for a week or so.

Couldn't see it at first then found it in the trees right where he had been reported. It was hard to get a good picture because of all the leaves and other branches. It was a great lifer.

On the way out we checked out a report of Swainson's Hawks out in the Hillsboro area. Stopped for a couple minutes and took photos. I saw 2 but someone questioned how many I saw. Doesn't matter to me. Dave Irons confirmed it was a  Swainson's Hawk ( juvenile plumage) so I feel good. Two Lifers in one day. It's all good.

Swainson's Hawk 

 

Cedar Waxwings Are Back

Had a good day yesterday. I was looking through ebird maps and saw that Steve Nord had seen some waxwings at Commonwealth lake. I got so excited I had to go see them. Cedar Waxwings are among my favorite birds. They are just beautiful.

When I first saw a photo at a friends house and looked them up on my field guide I wasn't concentrating on size. I thought they were a bigger bird like the size of a Jay. I saw some were reported at Fernhill Wetlands in Forest Grove.  So off I go. I was looking all over for this bird. I got down the trail and saw these little birds just flittering from tree to tree. Looked through my binoculars and there they were, Cedar Waxwing.  I was so shocked. I must have taken 20 pictures that day.

First photos of Cedar Waxwing

 

Newest Photos from Yesteday

I saw a lot of nice birds yesterday. It was so good to see my waxwings back.
Commonwealth Lake is a great place to go. It is paved all around and you can take a stroller if you need to. Lots of people around so I always feel safe.