This was the first official day of our annual Northwestern U.S. trip. Birding Sauvie Island west of Portland and nearby Scappoose Bottoms we had over sixty species.
Here’s a cross-section of the thousands of Cackling Geese wintering in the area.
And here are a few of the Sandhill Cranes that winter this far north.
And we had Golden-crowns galore…sparrow, and kinglet.
More pictures from the birders on our 2010 winter trips to the Pacific Northwest. HERE YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT OUR TRIP IN 2011.
PHOTOS, TOP TO BOTTOM:
Brant loafing along the shore of Hood Canal, Washington State. Photo by Steve Murray.
Male White-winged Scoter, Hood Canal. By Steve Murray.
Harlequin couple on the rocks along Hood Canal. Photo by Jeannie Mitchell.
Male Olds… Long-tailed Duck cruising the yacht harbor at Sequim, Washington. Photo by Ms Mitchell.
A Glaucous-winged Gull struggles to get up enough speed to show its disapprobation of an adult Bald Eagle. The eagle seemed to be carrying a Coot in its talons. This action shot by Ms Jeannie Mitchell.
Red-tailed Hawk dining on fresh rodent, Sauvie’s Island, Oregon. Photo by Ms Mitchell.
Trumpeter Swans in flight, Sauvie’s Island, Oregon. Photo by Ms Mitchell.
Whidbey Island beach, photo by Jennifer Hyypio. Here we saw a large flock of Black Oystercatchers. A flotilla of Harlequins, several species of loon and grebe fished offshore and a Pacific (nee “Winter’) Wren came down to insect-hunt in the driftwood.
Lovely necklace, no?
All these Brant were along the shore in Dosewallips State Park along Hwy 101, Washington State.
Besides the beatific Brant there was the whizzing Merlin shattering a flock of Starlings; the hundreds of Siskins hissing in the alder tops; a trio of Long-tailed Ducks with the male as caboose, his spiney stern ruddering across the surface of the sound; Hooded Mergansers and Bufflehead diving in water so clear we could see every feather as they swam after prey. But those are stories for a later blog.
Location: Potlatch State Park
Observation date: 2/8/10
Number of species: 28
Canada Goose 15
American Wigeon 50
Mallard 20
Greater Scaup 6
Surf Scoter 65
White-winged Scoter 4
Long-tailed Duck 1
Common Goldeneye 35
Barrow’s Goldeneye 12
Hooded Merganser 2
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Pacific Loon 3
Common Loon 2
Horned Grebe 5
Red-necked Grebe 4
Eared Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Pelagic Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2
Bald Eagle 2
Western Gull 2
Thayer’s Gull 1
Glaucous-winged Gull 16
Pigeon Guillemot 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
American/Northwestern Crow 5
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 12
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
American Robin 3
Location: Dosewallips State Park
Observation date: 2/8/10
Number of species: 27
Brant (Black) 250
Canada Goose (Large) 15
American Wigeon 16
Mallard 45
Northern Pintail 10
Greater Scaup 8
Surf Scoter 250
White-winged Scoter (North American) 125
Common Goldeneye 36
Barrow’s Goldeneye 2
Common Merganser 6
Horned Grebe 3
Red-necked Grebe 2
Western Grebe 1
Pelagic Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Bald Eagle 2
Cooper’s Hawk 2
Merlin 1
Mew Gull 50
Ring-billed Gull 25
Glaucous-winged Gull 30
European Starling 120
Song Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 6
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Pine Siskin 300
Location: Sequim and Dungeness
Observation date: 2/8/10
Number of species: 20
American Wigeon 10
Mallard 16
Northern Pintail 6
Ring-necked Duck 15
Greater Scaup 8
Surf Scoter 6
Long-tailed Duck 3
Bufflehead 18
Common Goldeneye 6
Hooded Merganser 12
Common Merganser 8
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Horned Grebe 4
Western Grebe 1
Pelagic Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 2
Pigeon Guillemot 8
Belted Kingfisher 1
American/Northwestern Crow 40
Song Sparrow 3
Partnership for International Birding 