Trip Report — Oregon: From the Coast to the Cascades I 2024
August 31-September 11, 2024 with Cory Gregory
One of the highlights of this trip, besides the many fantastic birds, was visiting Oregon's only National Park. Crater Lake, which is the deepest lake in the USA, sits prominently in the Cascades and we visited the south rim which gave us this magnificent view. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Oregon is a vast state filled with an impressive diversity of habitats, birds, mammals, and scenery. Our fall trip aimed to sample these things over the course of 10 days. Whether it was Crater Lake, Steens Mountain, The Three Sisters, or the coastline, the top-notch scenery was always with us. Birdwise, it was a great trip and we did really well in filling out an impressive checklist with all sorts of specialties. We especially enjoyed the Pacific Wrens hopping around point-blank, the Wrentit skulking around in brambles, the Harlequin Ducks loafing on the rocks below, some American Dippers doing dippery things in the rainforest, and even some sage specialists like Sage Thrasher and Sagebrush Sparrow.
Our adventure got underway in Portland and we first headed east. In the Columbia River Gorge, we stopped at a number of vistas and waterfalls, all unique in their own way. It didn't take long before we started to see a variety of western species. At Crown Point we saw Band-tailed Pigeons, Vaux's Swifts, and Steller's Jays and just a little bit later we stopped at Latourell Falls and had a fantastic time with the quintessential American Dipper. We visited the enormous Multnomah Falls and the smaller Horsetail Falls before driving east to The Dalles for lunch. In the afternoon we made our way to La Grande, watching for Pronghorn on the way.
Bright and early this morning, we headed west and up into the Blue Mountains. Although the smell of smoke was in the air, we added a number of new species such as Canada Jay, Williamson's Sapsucker, Mountain Chickadee, and a variety of nuthatches and kinglets. A little later on, we found some migrant kingbirds and a flock of Gray Partridge near Thief Valley Reservoir. In the afternoon, on our way through the beautiful mountains and valleys of western Oregon, we stopped and enjoyed a flock of Lewis's Woodpeckers as they swooped around the hillside above us. Sandhill Cranes were spotted along the road, Mountain Bluebirds occasionally dotted the roadside fences, and we were almost always in sight of a Swainson's Hawk. Finally, we made our way down into the town of Burns where we'd stay two nights.
We made a point to visit some picturesque waterfalls throughout this trip. From the tall and regal Multnomah Falls, to the lush and gurgling Clearwater Falls, we saw all sorts. This long-exposure photo was taken by guide Cory Gregory.
Today was a big day, the day we were off to visit Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Steens Mountain. We got an early start and made our way south through some light smoke. Several ponds and wetlands actually had water and so our list was off to a good start. We tallied a variety of ducks, shorebirds, and other odds and ends like Sage Thrasher, Burrowing Owl, a couple species of grebes, and a nearby Ferruginous Hawk put on a great show. We added Prairie Falcon, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, and nearly 200 Red-necked Phalaropes! Next, we spent an hour birding the park headquarters which, with all the trees, act as a migrant trap. Common Nighthawks sat quietly on limbs, a hoard of Yellow-headed Blackbirds attacked the feeders, a couple of Williamson's Sapsuckers put on a good show, and we ended up with some vireos like Cassin's and Warbling. Before long, we had to head south but right after we did, we encountered a flock of Chukar right on the shoulder of the road! Our goal was to drive up to the top of Steens Mountain, which we did, and we tallied a few different things up high like many Rock Wrens, Calliope Hummingbird, some flyover Cassin's Finches, and even a brief view of a young Black Rosy-Finch. Before long, it was time to head back towards town but we still stopped for some Burrowing Owls along the way!
The next morning, we birded up in the Malheur National Forest which was a beautiful, chilly, and quiet forest. We eventually found some birdlife in the form of Red-naped Sapsuckers and White-headed Woodpecker! On the way downhill, we added Canyon Wren and Townsend's Solitaire. After departing Burns, and as we drove west through the sage, we stopped at Riley Pond and added Black-crowned Night-Heron before continuing on to Chickahominy Reservoir. After a picnic lunch and a little birding along the lakeshore and we were back at it. It was at this point we stopped off for a major target of ours, Sagebrush Sparrow, and ended up getting good views! We made it into Bend and that evening we enjoyed the spectacle of hundreds of Vaux's Swifts spiraling into a chimney. What a way to close out a long but good day of birding.
Beautiful Sisters, Oregon. That's right, our first stop the next morning was in Sisters. We birded around town a little bit before heading out of town and into a burn. Our suspicions were right, there WAS a Black-backed Woodpecker nearby and we ended up getting fantastic looks at it. Red Crossbills came in, Pygmy Nuthatches creeped along limbs, and Western Bluebirds hung out low to the ground. Higher up into the mountains we added Green-tailed Towhee, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Clark's Nutcracker, and a whole bunch more Lewis's Woodpeckers. That afternoon we checked out Tumalo State Park highlighted by a nicely-perched Townsend's Solitaire.
You can't come to Oregon and not see an American Dipper! This quintessential species was seen multiple times including this one at the scenic Clearwater Falls. Not only did we see it extremely well, we even got to watch some fascinating behavior including it swimming underwater which we could see clearly due to the clear water. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Although we needed to make up some ground the next day, we first stopped at Hatfield Lakes near Bend which was a great stop and we saw a number of new things. The wetlands had attracted shorebirds and we saw Least and Western sandpipers, Killdeer of course, but we also found 4 Sanderling! It didn't take long for the word to get out and before long, other birders were headed there to try to find them. For the rest of the morning, we made our way down towards Crater Lake. Although a detour due to a forest fire set us back some, we eventually arrived and enjoyed the views from the South Rim of Oregon's only National Park. What a stunning vista! Next on our agenda was a brief stop at Diamond Lake where we added Barrow's Goldeneye, and then on to Clearwater Falls. These falls, which are one of my favorites, almost always has a dipper and although it took us a bit to find it, we did and we had great looks. Nearby, a duo of Pacific Wrens showed nicely which ended up being our only encounter.
The next morning we enjoyed a walk in a park along the Umpqua River in Roseburg. The woods were alive with Acorn Woodpeckers, Bewick's Wrens, Black-capped Chickadees, Anna's Hummingbirds, and Bushtits. Meanwhile, the river had a different mix of birds using it like Hooded Mergansers and Black Phoebes. A bit west of there, we stopped for another special bird, which performed admirably, the unique Wrentit! A nearby marsh hosted a surprise White-tailed Kite and some more shorebirds, and a Red-shouldered Hawk perched on a line nearby. Before long though, we finally descended to the coast. Out of the smoke and clouds, we birded first at the Coquille River mouth. Of course, almost everything was new for us at this point! Loons, scoters, distant shearwaters, auklets, a variety of cormorants, all of these things helped our list really take off. Late in the afternoon we birded at Face Rock which hosted Harlequin Ducks, photogenic Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and some vocal Black Oystercatchers. A beautiful dinner in a restaurant overlooking the ocean was a great way to cap off the day.
Oregon has a beautiful coastline and birding it the next day kept us busy. We started out at an overlook south of Bandon where we added Pigeon Guillemot and some migrating scoters, and then it was on to Devil's Kitchen where we spent a few minutes appreciating a Heerman's Gull. We returned to the Coquille River jetty at a lower tide and that was helpful for spotting more Black Turnstones, Black Oystercatchers, Pelagic and Brandt's cormorants, and a couple of Wandering Tattlers. We stopped at Bandon Marsh NWR on our way out of town and although we saw hundreds of sandpipers, mostly Westerns, they were pretty far out. A mammalian highlight came next when we stopped at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area where we did indeed find a herd of "Roosevelt" Elk. Birdwise, we added Violet-green Swallows, a couple of Cliff Swallows, and even heard a close Virginia Rail though it stayed out of sight. Farther north we stopped in Yachats where we saw more seabirds like White-winged and Surf scoters, Black Turnstones, and a couple of Glaucous-winged Gulls. By this point we were nearly to Newport and so we checked into our nice hotel and had a short break before a beautiful dinner (highlighted by some point-blank California Sea Lions nearby!).
Many people might not be aware of the truly expansive sage flats that Oregon hosts. Far out to the east, past the Cascades, the landscape is dominated by open-country flora. Along with the sage habitat comes the sage-loving birds! We were successful in finding many Sage Thrashers, like the one pictured here, and even some Sagebrush Sparrows as well. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
We had the entire next day to explore the marine environments around Newport. Starting out at Devils Punchbowl, we didn't waste time in finding some target species; we saw a lone Brant flyby, had nearly 10 Wandering Tattlers, at least 6 Black Turnstones and 7 Surfbirds, and even some distant alcids on the water such as Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet, and Pigeon Guillemot. Next on our agenda was a stop at the well-known Boiler Bay. We saw a Caspian Tern flyover, scoped a single Black Scoter and Red-necked Grebe, and watched some migrating Surf Scoters as well. Next, we came back to the south a little and visited the beautiful Yaqiuna Head Lighthouse. Looking down on the coast below, we scoped Harlequin Ducks, a migrant Black-bellied Plover, and a variety of cormorants. Our lunch, which was as fresh as seafood can be, came from the local fish market (it's the best place in town, they say). After lunch we got back out looking for more things which included a stop at Ona Beach State Park but by this point it had gotten pretty breezy. We stopped at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in town and checked out the many informative, hands-on displays, before we took a walk along the estuary. That evening we had another beautiful dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the setting sun.
Our final birding day was certainly eventful. We got underway early and made it to Marys Peak where we drove up slowly through the predawn light. Luck was on our side and we quickly knocked out many of the main targets. One of the biggest highlights was getting to see Mountain Quail scurrying alongside the shoulder! A short while later, we saw a couple of Sooty Grouse! Meanwhile, Dark-eyed Juncos scattered along the road and even a Barred Owl flew in briefly. Our visit to the peak was short and, for obvious reasons, we came down off the mountain with haste. For the rest of that afternoon, several of us birded some parks around Corvallis including Bald Hill where we added Wilson's Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and some sneaky Virginia Rails. Before long, though, it was time to head north and we made it back to Portland for our final farewell dinner.
Stretching east from Portland for nearly 100 miles, the well-known and impressive Columbia River Gorge snakes its way east. One of our very first stops was at this overlook where we appreciated the grandeur from afar. In places, the gorge is 4000 feet deep! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Other critters we tallied:
Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttalli)
Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus)
Townsend's Chipmunk (Noetamias townsendii)
California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)
Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
Douglas's Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii)
North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
Nutria/Coypu (Myocastor coypus)
Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Coyote (Canis latrans)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
"Roosevelt" Elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti)
Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)
In closing, I just want to thank each of you for joining me on this adventure through Oregon. I hope you made many good memories and enjoyed seeing the variety of habitats, from the coast to the Cascades to the sage flats. I'm very happy with how we did birdwise and much of that is thanks to you. Until we meet again on another birding adventure, good birding!
