Portland Birdwatching Experiences

The closure of the Mt Tabor park on Wednesdays so that birders can hear the bird songs is a lovely way to spend a spring day. Last week three hours went by with sightings of hundreds of migratory warblers. The ” common” ones such as the orange crowned and the Townsend’s were abundant but mixed in with those were a couple of ” rare” Nashville warblers and even a hermit warbler. The colors and the constant movement and the glimpses are fascinating. The light was just right to see the hues on the birds. We also saw a vireo, a Townsend’s solitaire, a merlin and a Pacific Flycatcher!!

What a lovely day with cooperative migrants!

What a lovely day in Portland– we are all so sun starved after weeks of clouds and rain that a 66 degree day with total sunshine is such a treat. I took a wonderful family group out today and we saw a rarity in Portland– several acorn woodpeckers. The sun was shining right on their incredibly red heads and they were quite accomodating, flying in front of us and posing on a very pecked tree– so that we could see the YELLOW on the throat and face!
so very bright and clear as they posed for us.

We were also lucky enough to see a male flicker apparently feeding chicks in a nest hole over and over– seems ” early” for chicks but that sure appeared like what he was doing.

The wood ducks were obliging again this weekend along with pied bill grebes, ring neck ducks, lesser scaups and many widgeons and buffleheads mixed in.

We spent about an hour watching the acorn woodpeckers demonstrate their white wing patches and then land and preen and peck. Unusual to see so many in Portland but they appear to have found a spot they like.