[obol] Tualatin River NWR & Fernhill Wetlands

[Shawneen Finnegan]

Charles Fu and I visited both Tualatin River NWR, followed by Fernhill  
Wetlands, this morning.   All in all both places were fairly quiet,  
but we did find a few shorebirds at both places. All the shorebirds at  
Fernhill Wetlands fled the when a PERGRINE came in and buzzed the pond.

Location:     Tualatin River NWR
Notes:     We birded around the one impoundment with water and little  
edge and a second area nearby with more mud edge.  Lots of young  
swallows (my estimate is probably low) and quite a few juvenile  
Spotted Sandpipers, with one group of four still mostly down- 
covered.   We spent a good deal of our time photographing/ 
digiscoping.  All the ducks were in eclipse plumage (tis that time of  
the year).  Four very fluffy junior Spotted Sands were very  
entertaining, already bobbing like the adults, though they had little  
to no tails yet.

Number of species:     39

Canada Goose     12
Wood Duck     2
Gadwall     8
Mallard     20
Cinnamon Teal     5
Northern Shoveler     1
Northern Pintail     1
Green-winged Teal     1
Hooded Merganser     2
Ring-necked Pheasant     1
Great Blue Heron     8
Turkey Vulture     1
Northern Harrier     1
Red-tailed Hawk     2
Killdeer     6
Spotted Sandpiper     15
Greater Yellowlegs     3
Least Sandpiper     1
Vaux's Swift     2
Belted Kingfisher     1
American Crow     2
Cliff Swallow     40
Barn Swallow     30
Black-capped Chickadee     2
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
American Robin     4
European Starling     2
Cedar Waxwing     5
Yellow Warbler     3
Common Yellowthroat     10
Spotted Towhee     1
Savannah Sparrow     5
Song Sparrow     4
White-crowned Sparrow     3
Lazuli Bunting     2
Red-winged Blackbird     75
Brown-headed Cowbird     2
House Finch     4
American Goldfinch     10

Location:     Fernhill Wetlands
Observation date:     7/20/08
Number of species:     31

Canada Goose     10
Gadwall     4
Mallard     35
Great Blue Heron     5
Turkey Vulture     1
Red-tailed Hawk     2
Peregrine Falcon     1
Killdeer     10
Spotted Sandpiper     2
Greater Yellowlegs     3
Western Sandpiper     1
Least Sandpiper     12
Long-billed Dowitcher     3
Mourning Dove     2
Vaux's Swift     1
Downy Woodpecker     1
Western Wood-Pewee     1
Tree Swallow     50
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     2
Barn Swallow     25
Black-capped Chickadee     2
Marsh Wren     10
European Starling     2
Cedar Waxwing     8
Common Yellowthroat     12
Savannah Sparrow     1
Song Sparrow     8
Black-headed Grosbeak     2
Red-winged Blackbird     25
Brown-headed Cowbird     6
House Finch     4