American Robin

Taken on March 11, 2012 at the end of Rentenaar Road on Sauvie Island.

I wonder if Robins look exotic to non-North Americans?

Osprey

I drove down Rentenaar Road on Sauvie Island on Saturday and took these Osprey shots via the moon roof on my car. I've seen several Osprey already this Spring; several sightings at Coffee Lake Creek on Grahams Ferry Road near Wilsonville.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Many of the birds are exchanging their winter plumage for their breeding plumage. Such is the case with this Golden-crowned Sparrow. Just a few weeks ago, its crown's black and yellow stripes were not nearly as well defined as they are now.

Pileated Woodpecker

Another gloomy day and I wasn't sure where to go birding. I wandered around a bit and ended up at Wapato State Park. The trail was pretty sloppy with mud in places and while trying to traverse one of these areas without slipping on my butt a Pileated Woodpecker swooped in announcing its arrival with its loud call.
It was near the top of a large tree and I was only able to get a few shots of it before it took off. Not the greatest pictures, but I don't see Pileateds very often. I heard it (and perhaps another) calling out throughout the rest of my walk through the park, occasionally seeing it flying from tree to tree, but I never got anymore close looks.

Sandhill Crane

A few pictures I took of Sandhill Cranes during the OBO field trip I attended last Saturday.

Varied Thrush

After spending an hour and a half slowly driving up and down Rentenaar Road looking for the Bobolink, I decided to drive over to Wapato Access Greenway, get out of the truck and walk around a bit. Turned out to be fruitful as I got to see another Varied Thrush and this time I got some reasonable pictures.
The few I've seen have been difficult to photograph as they are weary of humans and tend to take cover high among the branches of surrounding trees. Luckily the trees weren't very tall along the trail so it stayed within range.
I also got to here it vocalize a bit. It made a chirp somewhat reminiscent of a Robin, but much softer.
Based on the pale chest stripe, I assume this Thrush is a female.

Bewick's Wren

It was a rainy, gloomy day today (looks like it may stay that way for a while), but I decided to make a trip to Sauvie Island this afternoon in hopes of seeing the Bobolink reported on OBOL. No luck on that, but I did see several birds, including a lot of Snow Geese. I also saw this Bewick's Wren.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

On Sunday, I visited Sauvie Island. In the 23+ years I have lived in the Portland area, I have never spent any time on Suave Island. I had read on the local Audubon Society website that the Wapato Access Greenway located on the island was an important bird area, so I thought I would start there.
It's a beautiful area, but things were a little slow until I neared completion of the trail loop. Suddenly there were Black-capped Chickadees, Wilson's Warblers and Black-throated Gray Warblers all around me. I tried to be still and get as many pictures as possible, but these small birds in among the tree branches and leaves where nearly constantly moving. Then, one of the Black-throated Gray Warblers landed on a branch very near me. The lighting wasn't that good, but I did manage to get this one picture that didn't turn out too bad.