Crooked River Wetlands - Prineville, OR

This morning I spent 5 hours walking around and birding at the Crooked River Wetlands on the O'Neill Hwy near Prineville. It is a beautiful spot to walk, hike, bike or bird! It has 5.4 miles of walking trails of which 3.5 miles are paved. I identified 46 species of birds and saw 1 weasel. It had a reddish brown back and head, a white belly and a black tip on its tail. It was too quick to get a picture but I got lots of bird pics, including this one of an American Coot and several chicks!

I also saw a very elusive Virginia Rail!

A Spotted Sandpiper,

a Savannah Sparrow,

and a Leucistic Brewer's Blackbird,

Leucistic coloring is where white colors replace the normal colors, in this case the bird should have been all black. To see more pics and a complete list of today's birds, click here: Crooked River Wetlands

Cold Springs Campground - Sisters, OR

Headed east on Tuesday to avoid the rain on the west side of the Cascades. The bad news is that it is raining over most of the state but the good news is that it is a lot less on the east side! I spent last night at Indian Ford then moved to Cold Springs campground this morning. My first visit to this location. It is a beautiful area with lots of old growth pine trees and a clear small stream flowing through the campground.

I found a site next to the stream! Sites cost $14 but only $7 with my USFS senior pass. They have several pit toilets and a cool hand pump for drinking water! I have not seen many birds yet but I will keep looking!

Birding near Fern Ridge Reservoir

Fern Ridge Reservoir is just west of Eugene, Or. It has several birding hotspots so I have been spending many mornings exploring them. Some of the more colorful birds I have seen are:

Black-headed Grosbeak

Bullock's Oriole

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Pileated Woodpecker

Western Tanager

If you would like to see complete lists and more pics, here are a few links:

Perkins Peninsula Park

Perkins Peninsula 2

Zumwalt Park

I spotted a new park this morning that I may check out tomorrow. It doesn't seem to be listed as a county hot spot but maybe I can change that!