Raptor Road Trippin'

Posted at 5:19 PM, Saturday, February 2, 2008

We just returned from Raptor Road Trip, an event at Sauvie Island organized by Portland Audubon, Portland Metro, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Sarah and I were stationed at Rentenaar Road, which I attempted to capture in this poor photo:


We set up shop at 9:00am in the midst of a heavy snowfall and it snowed or rained until we packed up at 2:00pm. Despite the weather, plenty of folks showed up and were treated to huge flocks of waterfowl, plenty of Northern Harriers, and a pair of Bald Eagles that remained perched on a snag during much of the day. The only one who did not fully enjoy the day was Andie because she had to stay home alone until her grandmother Wendy came for a visit. We are now hard at work restoring warmth to our extremities with the help of Obsidian Stout,

Here is a list of birds Sarah and I observed from our station:
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Tundra Swan
Canada Goose (Dusky subspecies)
Cackling Goose
Snow Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Bald Eagle (all immature)
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Sandhill Crane
American Coot
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Dowitcher
Herring Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Northern Flicker
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
European Starling
American Robin
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird

Other birds on Sauvie Island Included:

Double-crested Cormorant
Common Merganser
Western Gull
Dark-eyed Junco