May 2014 – Cottonwood Canyon – John Day River, Oregon
Gray Flycatcher
If you stand below a lone tree in a canyon, pretty soon something will appear. And so it did.
There are about 4 species of Flycatcher that look very similar. I’ve deduced this is a Gray Flycatcher, but wouldn’t be surprised if I got that wrong.
May 2014 – Cottonwood Canyon – John Day River, Oregon
Golden Eagle
I did a bit of a double-take on this bird… and almost couldn’t believe that I was seeing it. While Golden Eagles aren’t rare, they’re not exactly common either. It’s been years since I’ve seen one previously. This one was soaring low over steep hillsides, no doubt hoping to flush-up an unsuspecting meal.
May 2014 – Cottonwood Canyon – John Day River, Oregon
Western Kingbird
Saw a few pairs of these… they always seem to be in pairs.
Lazuli Bunting
May 2014 – Cottonwood Canyon – John Day River, Oregon
These colorful birds are abundant in parts of the sagebrush above the river’s edge in Cottonwood Canyon. In particular, on the east bank, not far from the trailhead.
Lazuli Bunting
May 2010 – Hell’s Canyon, OR
At first, I had assumed these birds were Western Bluebirds, but on closer inspection, realized my mistake. They were fairly common in the canyon-side brush about mid-elevation, in the springtime.
Black-throated Gray Warbler
April 2014 – Fern Ridge Lake, Eugene, Oregon
These birds are not uncommon, yet not seen too often either. This happened to be a first sighting for me, just one bird.
American Bittern
April 2014 – Fern Ridge Lake, Eugene, Oregon
A pair of American Bitterns flew overhead just for a moment… I managed to snap one quick shot.
Black-footed Albatross
September 2013 – Off the Oregon Coast
These birds breed in the northwest Hawaiian islands, but roam the Pacific the rest of the year… sometimes floating on air currents without even flapping their wings for days at a time.
Black-footed Albatross
This photo was during a bit of a feeding frenzy, with a Pink-footed Shearwater to the left, and a California Gull above.
California Gull
September 2013 – Off the Oregon Coast
There were literally thousands of these gulls following a couple fishing boats that were pulling up nets bursting with fish. The California Gull changes plumage after about the 3rd year. This one is the juvenile plumage, as were most of the birds on this day.
California Gull
Pink-footed Shearwater
September 2013 – Off the Oregon Coast
To the untrained eye, many of these birds look similar… Actually, even to the trained eye, they look similar. But, it’s the small variations that matter. This bird has a light underside, and lighter bill with a black tip. It also has pink feet, but you’ll rarely see them.
Sooty Shearwater
September 2013 – Off the Oregon Coast
If you want to see birds like these, you have to get out to sea… or to some very remote islands. A number of such seabirds only come to land briefly when it’s time to breed – on some remote Pacific island.