Brown Pelican
November 2009 – Bandon, Oregon
For some reason, in 2009 thousands of Brown Pelicans congregated on the southern Oregon coast. Most likely, whatever food they were eating was plentiful in the area. Usually, these large populations are much further south into California. This solitary bird was taking a rest on Bandon beach.
Brown Pelican
I snapped this portrait as a Brown Pelican was flying by… I was somewhat surprised at how sharp I managed to get this.
Song Sparrow
May 2010 – Shore Acres State Park, Oregon
These are ubiquitous little birds that sometimes don’t get their due respect. Most birds that are common in suburbia suffer this fate – especially when they’re colored a mostly plain brown. But, the Song Sparrow has a powerful voices and beautiful song. I never get tired of them. This photo is from Shore Acres state park along the southern Oregon coast.
Pileated Woodpecker
This is a photo from the spring of 2006 – a pileated woodpecker allowed me to snap a few shots while he hammered away at a rotten log in Tryon Creek State Park. This was truly a rare thing to witness at such a close distance – these birds are usually more skittish. Amazingly, the 2nd such encounter for me in a 2 week span (the other was in Hillsboro).
Pileated Woodpecker
Here’s the other sighting, just 2 weeks prior to the first. This bird was hammering away on a stump, then hopped over to this nearby trunk.
Pacific Wren
July 2011 – Olympic National Park, WA
These birds are part of the essential character of the northwest rainforests. Their bubbling complex song sounds like a poetic thesis given in some alien language. They often perch atop stumps like this one to advertise their presence. It’s astounding that so much volume can come from such a tiny thing.
So… the wizards that decide these things have decided that this bird is no longer the “Winter Wren”, which is indigenous to the eastern US. Instead, they’ve been reclassified as “Pacific Wren”. Ok… I suppose I can see the reasoning, but now do I have to update everything I’ve ever written about them? It’s like being told that your brother, who you’ve known all your life is not named Bob, it’s Jim.
American Dipper
The American Dipper (also called Water Ouzels) are one of the more conspicuous birds of the northwest forests. These birds forage for their food under the surface of whitewater streams. They often squawk loudly while flying purposefully – straight and low – over the water surface, stopping on rocks or branches. This one was repeatedly returning for food for her two fledgling chicks. This was along a stretch of the Deschutes River, just south of Bend OR. I felt pretty lucky to get such a composition… there’s a lot going on here – the morsel of food, the bright red mouths, the dripping water… Feed me!
American Dipper
This bird was taking a rest on a log near University Falls in the Oregon coast range.
American Dipper
The Dipper gets its name possibly for two reasons. First, they dip in the water to get their food. But, they also have a curious habit flexing their legs and “dipping”, almost like a curtsy. They do this almost continuously… rarely just standing still – almost like a tic.
Barred Owl
We were just leaving the trailhead from Mt. Mitchell (just south of Mt. St. Helens), when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. It was this Barred Owl, swooping down to the forest floor to grab an unlucky mouse. He then floated back up to a mossy limb to have a little snack. A car can work as an effective blind – the bird doesn’t see the car as a threat, and for whatever reason, doesn’t perceive the people inside them. So, I fished around the back seat for my camera and long lens, while the owl ripped the mouse to bloody pieces. I snapped a few shots with the window rolled down, and then tried stepping out of the car for a closer look. I only took a couple steps though, and the owl took off (after finishing the mouse).
Rufous Hummingbird
May 2011 – Oregon Garden, Oregon
I spotted this hummingbird checking out a Camas flower in the Oregon Garden in May 2011. I was photographing some other birds at the time, and just noticed him out of the corner of my eye. I only had time to snap a couple quick photos, and got a bit lucky that the focus was dead-on, and the whole composition of the image actually worked.
Warbling Vireo
This Warbling Vireo was flitting around in a tree about 20ft overhead of a path in the Oregon Garden. I was actually trying to get a shot of a more conspicuous American Goldfinch, but was happy to get a much nicer shot of this bird.
White-Tailed Ptarmigan
October 2003 – Mt. David trail, Washington
My assumption is that this is a White-Tailed Ptarmigan… only because it’s most likely this is the type of Ptarmigan one would see in the North Cascades. The Rock Ptarmigan has a more northern range (though, they do overlap in this area). There is some non-white on the edge of the tail, which might lead one to think this could be a Rock Ptarmigan, but when the birds are molting and mottled, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions from details like that.