August 29-September 9, 2026 with Cory Gregory & Alex Sundvall
Oregon, the 9th largest state, is home to a myriad of habitats and ecological zones, a wealth of flora, and with that comes an impressive diversity of birds. We sampled the many habitats of Oregon on this fall trip, starting and ending in Portland, and came away with a very impressive 225 species! Add to that the amazing sights and sounds, from sage-grouse on the sage slopes of Steens Mountain, the Spruce Grouse high up in the Wallowas, the incredible vista at Crater Lake National Park, all the way to the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. We saw so much of Oregon and Alex and I are proud to have had you along on such a great birding tour.
We got under way in Portland where we didn't waste any time in seeing an incredible vista. Our very first stop was overlooking that grand Columbia River Gorge, followed by several famous waterfalls like Multnomah Falls, the tallest waterfall in Oregon. We took advantage of a rarity that had been present and added the continuing Cocos Booby to our triplist! A lifer for some, this was an amazing bird to see 100 miles up the Columbia River! After lunch in a riverside town, we continued our way to northeast Oregon, stopping along the way, enjoying Bighorn Sheep on the rocky slopes. Once we made it to the Blue Mountains, we slowly worked the roadsides up in the Ponderosa Pine forest before finally winding our way down La Grande where we stayed the night.
The next morning we immediately drove east, up into the Wallowa Mountains, enjoying a huge assortment of raptors on the way. It seemed like every single telephone pole had a Swainson's Hawk on it! Once we climbed in elevation, we did some birding along various trails and scored a couple huge highlights. First off, we found a couple of excellent woodpeckers like Williamson's Sapsucker and then, even rarer, a nice American Three-toed Woodpecker! Nearby, we added Pileated Woodpecker, Canada Jay, and then we stumbled into an entire family group of Spruce Grouse! This is a very rare and hard-to-find species anywhere in Oregon and so we were really quite lucky as we enjoyed crippling views. After we descended out of the mountains we visited a few spots like Thief Valley Reservoir but found it reserving nothing but grass and cattle! But, some Chukar was a fun bird to add. After lunch and a bit of driving in the afternoon, we found a hillside just teeming with Lewis's Woodpeckers! We came into Hines where we settled in for two nights.
Today was another fun day, one that started by driving south towards Malheur NWR. But, before we could even get there we had found multiple Ferruginous Hawks, one of the most regal predators on the Great Plains. We birded The Narrows which was incredibly birdy; Clark's Grebes swarm right below us, a variety of ducks and shorebirds were present, and even a "Western" Marsh Wren popped out for us. Farther down the road, at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, we started a very birdy walk around the grounds. This headquarters is an island of trees, vegetation, and cover in an otherwise stark landscape and the migrant birds were making the most of it. We found Common Nighthawks on dayroosts, watched Rufous Hummingbirds at the feeders, enjoyed another swarm of Lewis's Woodpeckers, and saw some good migrant flycatchers as well like Western Wood-Pewee and Gray Flycatcher. A Canyon Wren hopped around the buildings, some Western Tanagers were foraging on berries, and we added seven species of warblers including MacGillivray's and Townsend's. After a picnic lunch on the refuge and some soaring Golden Eagles, we climbed our way up towards Steens Mountain. Things got exciting when we found some Greater Sage-Grouse right off the road! Once we made it up to elevation, we enjoyed spectacular views of Kiger Gorge and then the East Rim of Steens Mountain. We saw more than nice scenery though, we added Calliope Hummingbird, Clark's Nutcracker, and even some Cassin's Finches made appearances. On the way down the mountain we added yet another great raptor, a Prairie Falcon. To close out the day we enjoyed many Black-tailed Jackrabbits before heading back up to town.
The next morning, our final in southeastern Oregon, we climbed up into the Malheur National Forest and enjoyed the cool temps along with some montane species like Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Pygmy Nuthatch, and some great woodpeckers like White-headed Woodpecker and Red-naped Sapsucker. But then it was time to head west and we left the Hines area and started through the sage flats. We made a stop at Chickahominy Reservoir which was birdy but also windy but that didn't stop our picnic lunch. Nearby we connected with Sagebrush Sparrow, a habitat specialist we were keen to find. We spend the rest of the afternoon driving towards Bend, our home for two nights.
It was a cloudy and foggy morning the next day which kept us from seeing the Three Sisters well. We made our way into the town of Sisters and right away enjoyed Townsend's Solitaires and some nice feeders birds like Cassin's Finch, Red Crossbill, Pygmy Nuthatch, and of course more Lewis's Woodpeckers. Up into the nearby mountains, we focused on a different suite of birds and connected with a great Black-backed Woodpecker! Nearby, we also added Fox Sparrow, Nashville Warbler, and enjoyed more Mountain Chickadees, nuthatches, and creepers. Back down the mountain, we had some unfinished business to attend to. We took care of that when we found the roving flock of 80 Pinyon Jays roaming around Sisters! After enjoying the flock for quite a while, it was time for us to make our way back to Bend. That evening we enjoyed a dinner in downtown Bend and even caught the tail end of some Vaux's Swifts descending down a chimney to roost.
The next morning found us packing up and leaving Bend. Our first stop was at Hatfield Lake where we found a nice variety of waterbirds, some Say's Phoebes, our first American Pipit, and a variety of other goodies. But then it was time to drive up into the upper reaches of the Cascades. Once we approached Crater Lake, we stopped short at Diamond Lake and enjoyed some great views of Barrow's Goldeneyes before moving on. As we drove up the sides of Crater Lake, it began to snow! Beautiful scenes unfolded as the conifers stood there, snowcovered, as we went to lunch. After lunch and after returning to the rim, we braved the rain and snow and ventured out to witness the amazing sight of Crater Lake. The weather cleared just enough for us to be able to see all of it but then it clouded back up and we considered ourselves very lucky! Descending out of the snow zone, we stopped at a set of waterfalls which were picturesque despite some drizzle. Even better, it hosted American Dipper and Pacific Wrens! We hopped in and dried off as we descended down into the valley. Interestingly, we enjoyed a dinner inside an old train station before calling it a night!
The next morning greeted us with fantastic weather. We birded in Roseburg along the river for a bit, scoring Acorn Woodpecker, Anna's Hummingbird, Bewick's Wren, Hooded Merganser, Black Phoebe, Western Warbling Vireo, and others. After we left down and started westward, we climbed into the Coast Range and stopped at a covered bridge where we encountered our first Wrentit and Willow Flycatcher of the the trip. We stopped again at Myrtle Point Marsh and scoped few distant shorebirds like Baird's and Least sandpipers but we also heard a Virginia Rail grunting. That afternoon we finally made it to the coast, the first time we had seen the Pacific Ocean on the tour! In Bandon, we quickly started adding birds to our triplist like Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Parasitic Jaeger, three species of cormorants, as well as Brown Pelicans. It was a pleasure being able to breath that sea breeze air finally. We paid a quick visit to Face Rock before heading to our nice hotel. However, perhaps the nicest view of the day came from our dinner table as we enjoyed a sunset right on the water!
We spent the entirety of the next day birding various spots along the beautiful Oregon Coast. From Bandon State Park, where we spotted our first Marbled Murrelet of the trip, to the Devil's Kitchen, Coquille River jetty, to the Siltcoos River beach where finally turned up some Snowy Plovers! Along the way we saw many Black Turnstones, White-winged Scoters, Sanderling, Heerman's Gulls, three species of loons, and even some rare Elegant Terns. We somehow also had time to enjoy some Elk, Cobra Pitcher Plants, and a variety of new birds as we wound our way up the coast towards Newport. That evening we enjoyed a dinner right on the water which also happened to be right next to a platform with dozens of California Sea Lions on it!
Other critters we tallied:
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/573889
-- Cory Gregory & Alex Sundvall