March 28, 2012

Tualatin NWR

I got lucky and had two days off with sunshine! I guess that makes up for last weekend. I visited Tualatin NWR with my friend Robin. When we got there it was a bit cloudy, but it quickly burned off.



The water was higher than I have ever seen it.



Yellow-rumped Warblers were prolific.







This one found a big bug!


Although I only got one good photo, we saw many Ruby-crowned Kinglets too.


When the sun came out, the birds started singing.


We were really excited to see this Red-breasted Sapsucker.




After much consultation with the field guide we determined these must be Eurasian Wigeons. Are we right?


And my friend, wanted to turn this into a Savannah Sparrow, but after looking at these photos, I think it really is a Golden-crowned Sparrow (Sorry, Robin). Anyone want to settle this for us?


Another view of the same bird:


Fun fungi




Trilliums blooming


I recorded 36 species. Such a lovely morning!
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6 comments:

  1. Country Gal 3/28/12, 5:07 AM

    Looks like a wonderful place ! Awesome photos ! Have a great day !

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  2. Unknown3/28/12, 9:21 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Unknown3/28/12, 9:35 AM

    What a great outing we had! You captured some great bird moments. :) After looking up an actual picture of a savannah sparrow I think you are right; your shot shows the markings much better than my binocs. The heart always roots for a new species!

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  4. Rhett Wilkins3/28/12, 7:42 PM

    You are most certainly correct with the wigeons. Congrats! This is a winter/spring regular in these parts, but not necessarily common. I've noticed that they seem to become more common as winter progresses into spring, but perhaps that's because so many surrounding American Wigeons start to taper off into migration, exposing the once camouflage Eurasian form.

    While it's difficult to tell from this photo, the female between the two males appears to be Eurasian as well. These females are very chocolaty in color versus the grayish American female.

    Good birding, and cool blog!

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  5. Jen Sanford3/29/12, 9:49 AM

    I love that stripey fungus! Very cool. As Rhett said, definitely Eurasian Wigeons, and definitely a Golden-crowned Sparrow. Nice to see the Yellow-rumpeds looking so dapper... Now if it would only stop raining!

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  6. Cathy Crandall4/16/12, 11:52 AM

    But Robin is right to be looking for savannahs out there. We see them all the time, or to be more accurate, hear them, when the refuge roads open up.

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