Oregon Lifer Roundup

Lots of Common Murres!

I just realized I never posted about the life birds I got in Oregon. I got seven lifers:

Vaux's Swift - They "replace" the Chimney Swifts of NJ out in Oregon. I saw them a few times over the city. Sorry, no pics.

Tufted Puffin - I posted my best (AKA worst ever) picture of some Tufted Puffins a few weeks back. They nest in small numbers on Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach. It's really fun to watch them fly back and forth to the huge rock and then try to find them standing among the thousands of murres and cormorants.

Common Murre - I've never managed to see one here in NJ and I don't do many pelagics, so this was a lifer. TONS of them nest along the coast of Oregon, shoulder to shoulder practically.

A whole bunch more Murres! Every black speck is a Common Murre with a few Pelagic and Brandt's Cormorants thrown in.

Varied Thrush - One of my most wanted species in the US. We had heard them early in the trip and then on several occasions in Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach. I waited and waited. I did my best impression of their call... I peered deep into the mossy forest for a LONG time... No luck! Then, as we drove out of the park, there was one feeding right on the side of the road!

Hermit Warbler - A bird I wasn't sure I'd find, but I got lucky and found a pair nesting in the Wildwood Recreation Site east of Portland.

American Dipper - When we visited Colorado in 2006, I think I looked in 50 streams and rivers looking for this neat little bird. It was in the back of my mind for this trip, but not expected. Wildwood came through again here. We paused on a footbridge over a very strong stream and, lo and behold, there was a little Dipper sitting on a rock.

It was FAR away and on the only rock in the stream.

Townsend's Warbler - An ABA bird for me. I actually found one in Costa Rica on one of my trips there. Apparantly it was a rare bird there. They were relatively common on top of Mt. Tabor Park in Portland.

Big misses:

I tried my darndest to find Wrentit in all the popular places, but couldn't for the life of me! Oh well, it's an excuse to go back. I also missed any western Empids. I heard a few but couldn't match them up to the calls on my iPod. I also missed all the western Sapsuckers and Woodpeckers. I had many more misses, but like I said, it's an excuse to go back. Indeed, we plan to. Oregon rocks!