I live in Portland Oregon, with my wife Tui, two boys, Charlie (ten) and George (seven) and a pitbull Maile.
Jan 1st. Charlie and I drove out to Erroll Heights Park, where we found a roosting barred owl. We tried for the Sellwood barn owl, but found none. On the way home, we stopped at the overlook for a glimpse at the screech owl roosting far below.
Late in the afternoon, Tui, George and I drove out to Scappoose Bottoms. We found a short eared owl flying over a distant dike. On the way home we found a great-horned owl perched in a roadside cottonwood.
Jan 7th Late in the day, I took Maile and the boys to Scappoose. We walked around near the airport and found two short-eared owls. One was hunting over rough pastures, while the other was hunting over wet reedbeds. This is the first time I had seen short-eared hunting over reedbeds. Perhaps it was hunting roosting blackbirds?
Jan 8th. Charlie and I rode our tandem out to Erroll Heights park, where we found a pair of barred owls roosting in the usual site.
Jan 14th. I drove down to Finley in search of a couple of roosting long-eared owls that had been reported last weekend. At dusk, a couple of scolding ruby-crown kinglets alerted me to a great-horned owl that had just started hunting. Alas I never found any long-eared owls, but was compensated by a prairie falcon and a bobcat.
Jan16-17th. George and I drove out to Fossil in Wheeler county. Owling around Fossil I heard one long-eared owl and five great-horned owls.
We pulled into Bear Hollow county park onto some icy snow and promptly got stuck.
At first light camping at Bear Hollow, I heard a singing pygmy owl. While cooking breakfast a work truck drove by, and the guy kindly towed us free.
We stopped at a barn near Condon and found a beautiful great-horned owl. At Deschutes state park we found a fantastic roosting saw-whet owl.
That evening Tui and I walked around Tabor after dark and heard a singing great-horned owl, that stubbornly remained out of sight.
While walking Maile in the neighborhood, I heard a barn owl.
Jan 22nd. The whole family went to Willow Bar on Sauvie's Island at sunset. We heard a pair of duetting great-horned owls in the tall cottonwoods, but dense brambles prevented us from getting close enough to see them.
Jan 23rd. I went to Oaks Bottom at dusk and found a singing screech owl perched low in a bush at sunset.
Jan 28th. George, Maile and I returned to Willow bar and walked the beach at sunset. We found one great-horned owl, silhouetted against the Western sky on the crown of an oak tree.
Jan 29th. George and I hiked around Reed Canyon on a sunny afternoon. We had checked for barred owls a half dozen times this month and this was the first time we found one (roosting in a small fir tree).
Feb 11th. George and I went to Sauvie on a warm sunny morning. We stopped at Oak Island Road and found a roosting barn owl.
Feb 12th. Charlie and I rode our bike to Errol Heights Park, to check on the barred owls. We quickly found a pair of beautiful owls roosting in Doug Firs.
Later George, Mail and I drove out past Mt Hood towards Maupin. At Dusk we pulled over on a small gravel road.
I cooked dinner on the stove, while Maile explored, and George kicked around a soccer ball. We explored a ridge at the North Edge of the Warm Springs reservation after dark, hearing a saw-whet owl and two screech owls. We ended in driving up Badger Creek Road and camping in White River Wildlife Management area. I had hoped to find a long-eared owl, but we neither heard or found one of these fantastic owls.
Feb 13th. Tui, Charlie and I walked around Tryon. At dusk, Charlie disturbed a roosting great-horned owl with his stick sword fighting antics.
Feb 15th. I went out owling with my friend Andy Frank to Leif Erikson trail. We found two saw-whet owls and a great-horned owl. We saw one of the saw-whets in flight, which was very cool. It looked like a giant moth as it flew around these tall Doug Firs.
Feb 18th. After dinner, I went to the South end of Oaks Bottoms after dark, and found a pair of screech owls, perched very low in some low Doug Firs.
Feb 19th. Charlie and I made an epic (for us) tandem bike ride along Leif Erikson trail. On the return we heard, and later found two fantastic singing barred owls at dusk.
Feb 20th. George and I visited Willow Bar at Sauvie's Island. On the way back we stopped at Oak Island Road, where I found a roosting dark barn owl.
Feb 21st. George and I drove out to Force Lake to check on the nesting great-horned owls. Sure enough, a incubating (or brooding) great-horned owl was sat conspicuously on the nest.
Feb 25th. Andy Frank let me know about a screech owl in a cavity in his yard. I showed up at Sunset, and the owl was peeking out of a large hole in a birch tree. Over the next 15 minutes it emerged from the hole, sang a half dozen times, then flew off.
Feb 26th. Following up on a lead from Andy Frank, I found a singing pygmy owl in Forest Park. The bird perched out in the open in a maple tree. It song vigorously for ten minutes, while a vigilant Anna's hummingbird harassed it.
Feb 27th. Maile and I took a wet walk around Errol Heights Park, where we found two barred owls roosting together in the same small stand of Doug firs.
Mar 5th. Charlie, Maile and I took a walk at Sitka Sedge. At the parking area we head some scolding fox sparrows. We crept into the undergrowth and were thrilled to find a pygmy owl fly up to a low perch clutching a dead towhee in it's talons. We got fantastic looks at this fierce little predator
March 6th. I took a pre-dawn walk into the coast range from Whalen Island. I had been hoping to find saw-whet owls in the dense stands of Doug Fir. Instead a hungry Barred owl flew into investigate me. It's mate called from the slope below.
March 11th. I got up early, well before dawn and checked Laurelhurst Park for owls, but found none. I then drove out to the Columbia Slough, to check on a great-horned owl nest in a cottonwood cavity. I found a silent great-horned, perched near the nest site. Eventually it flew into the cavity. Below the nest site a barn owl flew by. Then a skunk walked by, fortunately I noticed the it first and was able to leash my dog, Maile, before she got too close.
I took the boys to Willow Bar that evening. We cooked Kalbe beef and fed the rib bones to Maile. On the way back I found a great-horned and screech owl near Racoon Point (and heard a barn owl).
3/19 Charlie, Maile and I walked around Powell Butte at dusk, searching for a short-eared owl reported on e-bird. Sure enough we had fantastic views of a hunting owl near the summit. Walking back to the car we heard a barred owl singing.
3/20-24. I took George and Charlie on a 4 night trip through East Oregon. We drove out to Hot Lake near LaGrande. I was hoping for either long-eared or short eared owl, but found neither. We did hear a great-horned. A little further East, near Medicine Springs, I saw one roadside great-horned, and heard a second, plus a screech owl. We drove up through the snow, and found a dry, snow free spot, to pitch the tent under a big ponderossa tree.
The next day we awoke to light snow. We headed south a few miles to some sage-covered hills, where we searched for short-eared owls. Again, we didn't find any. We did find a beautiful great-horned owl, nesting in a cottonwood. Both boys got out of the car to enjoy it, and Charlie drew a fantastic caricature of it. We continued on, through Richland to Moonshine Mine campground on the snake river.We lazed around for the afternoon at the river, before returning to the same sage flats in search of short-eared owls. Along the road we found another great-horned owl on a nest. On the sage flats we saw pronghorn, and a sage grouse, while many coyotes called. Alas no short-eared owls. On the drive back I saw a screach owl near Richland, and heard two more, plus a great-horned. Charlie and I stayed up late at the campground, listening to a pair of great-horned owls, singing across the Snake in Idaho.
After breakfast we followed the Snake to I84 then drove along the Interstate to Ontario. From there we drove south through Adrian where we had really great views of another nesting great-horned owl. We turned onto Succor creek road, where I found a burrowing owl in the same general area that I had seen one last year. We arrived at Succor Creek Park, and spent the afternoon eating and relaxing. After dinner, we headed south about 15 miles, to more sage flats, in search of short-eared owls.
Again, we were stumped by short eared owls, and despite staying until well after dark and listing for their distinctive bark, we could not find any. As a consolation we found another great-horned owl at Mahogany Gap Road, and saw a wild turkey.
I was awoken by a singing screech owl several times. At breakfast a pair of noisy prairie falcons flew high above our camp. We headed back north along Succor Creek Road, stopping briefly for another nesting great-horned owl, near Adrian. From Vale, we headed West through Burns, and beyond to Glass Buttes. We climbed along a rough track into a dense stand of junipers and made camp. After dark we drove several roads, stopping and listening for screech owl. We found none, but did hear two singing saw-whet owls, interesting that they breed in Juniper Forests. I was awoken to both a solitary great-horned owl singing and a female long-eared owl calling.
Mar 26th. The whole family went to check out a great-horned owl nest on the Columbia Slough. The nest site is in a large cavity in an old cottonwood. When we arrived an adult bird and a chick were visible in the nest hole. It's mate soon flew out from an unseen roost site. Both adults started hunting, but remained silent as it got darker.
Mar 27th. I got up before dawn to check on the screech owls that roost in the cavity of an ash tree at Oaks Bottom. I didn't hear any screech owls, but a pair of barred owls started duetting nearby. I was able to scramble down the bluff in the dark and find both owls in cottonwood trees without a flashlight.
I then headed out to Reed Canyon to try and locate the barred owls that have bred there for years. After a 15 minute wait, one owl started to actively fly around and sing. A second bird called but it was very muffled. Perhaps it was calling from a nest cavity. Eventually the second owl showed up, they mated briefly, before a mob of angry crows started to harass them.
Mar 28th. Charlie and I decided to check on a reported screech owl at Ladd's Addition. WE rode our bike there, but found no owls. On the way back we heard a singing barred owl at Crystal Springs Gold course. We snuck in, and soon found the big owl, exposed, high in a bare maple tree.
April 2nd. The whole family went to Force Lake in the evening. I was able to see an adult owl pulling beakfulls of meat from a carcass and feeding it to a large chick.
Apr 3rd. I walked Maile to the bluff at Oaks Bottoms, from there I could spy the screech owl roosting in the usual cavity in an old ash tree.
April 8-10th. The whole family went to stay in an AirBnB in Condon. I tried to find either pygmy or saw-whet owl along Lost Valley Road in Gilliam County but found neither. While driving to the Painted Hills, I checked a roadside barn and found a pair of great-horned owls nesting in a raven nest.
One night I drove to Deschutes county, and found a barn owl-a rare bird in Deschutes, and a roadside great-horned owl. I didn't get back until 2 am, just as a blizzard started. The next morning we awoke to a snow-covered landscape.
On the drive back, Tui spotted a nesting great-horned owl near the town of Wasco.
April 16th. I got up before dawn and drove with Maile to Gabriel Park. Soon after arriving I heard a distant barred owl. I followed the call into a residential neighborhood, and after over an hour of searching I found two barred owls fighting on the ground. Above them a murder of crows squawked. When I disturbed them, one owl flew off, but was quickly grabbed by the second owl, and they tumbled into the undergrowth.
April 17th. I awoke early and drove out to Powell Butte before dawn. Near the summit I found a pair of barn owls. At least two, possibly three great-horned owls were singing. I got to see one great-horned owl fly by. A northern pygmy owl sang from the same ridge that I heard it a couple of weeks ago. After some searching I eventually saw the pygmy owl high in a Doug fir.
April 22nd. Charlie and I rode out tandem out to Laurelhurst Park, where screech owls had been reported recently on ebird. I had tried a couple of times early in the morning in March and failed. This time Charlie spotted an owl in some Rhododendrons, and after much searching I was able to see it in flight a couple of times. Charlie earned himself an ice-cream as a reward.
April 24th. I got up before dawn, and drove with Maile out to Portland Children's Arboretum. A gang of three coyotes met us, and were surprisingly fearless. I heard a pair of great-horned owls. We startled a skunk, and after it got light I found a great-horned owl roosting in a stand of firs. I tried a great-horned owl nest by the golf course, but the young had fledged, and where not visible. Last I visited Force Lake to check on the great-horned owl nest there. Again the owls had fledged. I could not see any juvenile owls, but an adult was standing guard just below the nest.
April 29th-30th. Sean Cozart found a pair of burrowing owls in Baker County. This is a local and uncommon breeder in NE Oregon, so with Sean's help, I decided to make the long drive out to the wild sagelands to look for this owl. Georeg, Maile and I drove out on a beautiful clear day. We arrived at the location just before dusk. After a tense minute of scanning the ground from the car, a burrowing owl flew up onto a fence post. What a brilliant owl.
We drove a little ways down the road and got out for a beautiful evening walk.
My wild paleontologist
I wished we stayed there and camped, but with rain due tomorrow, I wanted to make the most of the owling out here. We drove back around to Enterprise, and then headed North towards Floras, stopping when we reached the first forest. With George asleep in the car, I spent a couple of hours searching for saw-whet owls, but found none. I did hear a couple of great-horned, and saw one from the road. We camped near the top of a mountain, under a chilly star-laden night.
Alas, we awoke to the predicted rain. Reluctantly we returned home. I found a great-horned in a nest just outside of Enterprise. We stopped at Spring Creek, but it was pouring, and the one platform I checked had no owls on it.
May 8th. Tui and I took a rainy hike around Tryon . A pair of scolding robins lead me to a barred owl, perched very low in a gully. This is the first time I have seen barred owl in Tryon since 2020. I'm curious if there is a nesting pair.
May 13-15th. The whole family went to stay at a rental house in Sisters. On Friday night it rained, so I stayed with everyone. Saturday night was perfect, with a big moon. I drove out to green ridge in search of great-gray owls. Alas, I found none. I did hear one, and saw a second beautiful saw-whet owl. It was great just to take a night hike with Maile.
May 20-22nd. Charlie, Maile and I went on an adventure to Ironside Mountain in Malhuer County. We first stopped at Conley Lake, where short-eared owls have nested. We arrived at dusk, and failed to find any short-eared owls. We did find five great-horned in the general area. After charging the car in LaGrande, we drove to Ironside Mountain arriving just before 2am. A singing saw-whet owl greeted us at our camp site.
I woke at 6am, and started searching the area near the tent, while Charlie slept. I soon heard a pygmy owl, my first in Malheur County. I eventually got good views of this owl being mobbed by Audubon's warblers. After a hot breakfast we hiked around as the blue sky changed gray, and a big storm arrived, dousing us with hail. Maile found a snow-shoe hare to chase.
We decided to find drier weather, so set off for Umatilla County, stopping along the way to charge at John Day. Late in the afternoon we reached Alkali Flats road, near Pendleton. After some searching we found a pair of nesting burrowing owls.
We drove West to Quesna County park, where we camped on the banks of the Columbia, we didn't find any owls, but the sky was so beautiful and we had a beautiful fire.
May 27-29th. George, Maile and I drove out to Lost Valley Rd in Gilliam County.
We listened for pygmy owls at dusk, but didn't hear any. Before it got completely dark, and under a fine drizzle, a distant flammulated owl hooted. This is the first time I have found this bird in Gilliam County. We drove south to Kinzua Golf Course, where we camped. It rained during the night, but we stayed dry under a big ponderosa pine.
After a nice breakfast we headed up to Condon, and charged the car. We then drove northwest to Hermiston, stopping along the way at Sand Hollow Rd, where we tried for short-eared owl. We failed to find short-eared, but did find a great horned standing watch from a grain elevator tower. Later we flushed a pair of great-horned from an old barn.
From Hermiston we made our way West to Quesna County Park on the Columbia. We cooked some food and loafed around until early evening. We drove a loop around Boardman Bombing Range in search of short-eared owls. Alas, despite perfect looking habitat we found none. We did see elk and a nighthawk, hear coyotes and curlews. A family of four great-horned owls entranced George. It was late and rainy by the time we returned to Quesna County Park. We pitched the tent under a gazebo. Unfortunately over the night, rain pooled over the concrete floor. We awoke to find ourselves really wet and uncomfortable.
June 2nd. Charlie and Maile headed out to Reed Canyon to see if the barred owls had youngsters. We initially didn't hear any owlets whiled away twenty minutes playing checkers under the foot bridge. On the way back to the car, we found two noisy owlets and an adult at the head of the canyon.
June 3rd. Late in the evening, Maile and I went to Marshall Park. A coyote greeted us at the entrance to the park. We heard no owls on the walk down, but when returning to the car we heard a pair of juvenile barred owls begging. I found a couple of owlets high in a Doug fir, one was obviously a lot larger than the other. We waited for five minutes, but didn't see any adults.
June 4th. Maile and I visited Errol Heights Park at dusk. I saw five beavers in the main pond. I soon heard the begging calls of young barred owls, and was able to find 3 youngsters taking shelter under a dense fir.
June 6th. Charlie and I returned with Maile to Reed Canyon, where we found two juvenile and two adult barred owls.
June 12th. Charlie and I took Maile to Marshal Park Despite the heavy spring rain we walked past a couple of adult roosting barred owls, one we saw from just 10' away.
June 16-18. Charlie, Maile and I drove out to the Wallowa Mountains for a weekend. We started owling after dark, exploring the forest roads between Wallowa and Troy. Around midnight I heard a flammulated owl on the far side of a wet meadow. I hiked the meadow and deep into some thick stands of young pines. It was a moonless night, and I was worried that I might get disorientated in the dark. I eventually got views of a tiny flammulated owl flying between two fir trees. We persisted until 230am looking for saw-whet, but found none. We drove the car up a logging track until the wheels began to spin in the mud, and parked for the night. Charlie caught a second wind, and I had a couple of warm dark beers, while we chatted.
I woke early, surprised to hear a sandhill crane calling overhead. I spent a couple of hours drinking coffee and watching Maile explore the meadow, while Charlie caught up on his sleep. We eventually made our way to Enterprise, where we charged the car and loafed around town for a couple of hours. Charlie wanted to ride the Wallowa Lake gondola. The highlight of our ride, was great views of a bear, just below the gondola. After our ride, we drove into the Wallowa mountains. We stopped and walked to a small lake in the forest, where we built a camp fire. We cooked dinner, took a couple of short walks and relaxed. Maile jumped over a downed log and cut her shoulder on a sharp branch. There wasn't much blood, but her muscle was dramatically exposed by the open would. We hiked up a small forest track after dark through thick young firs. Charlie spotted something small flying against the twilight. Soon a saw-whet started singing! We eventually got nice views in the flashlight.
Buoyed, we decided to make the long drive to Spring Creek to look for great gray owls. Near Joseph we got good views of a roadside great-horned owl. At spring creek we saw a big owl in the headlights. I initially thought it was a great gray, but the next morning, Charlie and I found a great-horned about 1/2 mile away and I expect that was the bird we saw. More exciting, we saw a goshawk fly by.
The drive back was a shit show. A key EV charger was broke, and there were a lot more electric cars using other chargers. We had to drive up to Kennewick, WA to get a charge and didn't get home until 9pm!
June 19th. Tui and I went to Mary Young Park. We found an adorable pair of recently fledged barred owls perched quite low in a maple tree.
June 20th. Charlie and I went to Audubon Sanctuary in Portland in search of young barred owls. We had a nice walk, but found none. Late in the evening, I returned, and ventured into the upper part of the reserve. I quickly found one adult and three juvenile barred owls.
As the sun set, I drove out to Mary Young, where I refound the two juvenile barred owls, plus an adult with prey. Nearby a juvenile great-horned owl was perched low on a bough eating a rabbit!
June 22nd. While staying at Whalen Island, I got up well before dawn and checked the cow pastures for barn owls. Sure enough, I had a barn owl silently flying overhead around 415am.
June 24th. I struggled to get up at 330am to go out and visit Happy Valley Nature Park, where a family of screech owls had been reported. I initially found a pair of territorial birds, and then later heard two, and saw one juvenile plus an attending adult in a different part of the park.
June 25th. Again I got up at 330am. I drove out to Oaks Bottom to search for juvenile screech owls. I walked the whole East side, but heard none. At first light I saw a silent barred owl. There has been a pair reported here all spring, and perhaps they have eaten or at least silenced the screech owls. Also no indication that the barred owls have raised young here.
June 26th. I got up at 5am and drove out to Wapato on Sauvie's Island. Near the entrance to the park I found at least one begging juvenile barred owl with a pair of attendant adults nearby.
July 1st. Charlie, Maile and I headed out to the Holman Lane entrance to forest park. There we found at least on screech owl. We hiked down to Macleay Trail, where Charlie found a second screech owl singing low in an alder tree.
July 3rd. Charlie, Maile and I took a hike along Oak Island road after sunset. We found a family of raccoons, a possum and a great-horned owl (revealed by scolding robins). Charlie was hoping for a barn owl but we found none.
July 29th. On a very hot summer evening, Charlie, Maile and I drove out to Larch Mountain. Our main target was Common Nighthawk, which we easily found. Driving down Larch, we could hear a begging juvenile barred owl. We stopped, and were able to find a juvenile owl flying between tall Doug Firs.
Aug 8th. I took the boys for a 3 night camping trip to the North Oregon Coast. In the foothills above Whalen Island while the boys and Maile were asleep in the tent, I heard a pair of barred owls duetting below us.
Aug 11th. I took the boys out to Willow Bar on Sauvie's island for a swim after work. Driving back across the island at sunset I saw a great-horned owl fly into a stand of cottonwoods.
Aug 24th. George and I heard a juvenile great-horned owl at Willow Bar on Sauvie's island.
Aug 25th. Driving back from Willow Bar after a swim, George and I drove past separate great-horned owls on Sauvie's Island. Both birds, were perched on utility poles.
Aug 30th. Walking across Willow Bar on Sauvie's Island with George, I heard a begging juvenile great-horned owl. A minute late I saw a dark (presumably adult) great-horned owl fly along the side of the clearing. Unfortunately Charlie was behind with Tui and missed out on the owls.
Sep 8th. I took Charlie and George to Willow Bar. While George and I were swimming Charlie found a singing great-horned owl. He was rightly very happy with the sighting. George and I returned from swimming to find Charlie sharing his find with a dog walker. This is Charlie's side of the story. After my dad and brother started swimming I waited for about 15 minutes until I went back to the forest. Along the way some Californian Quails ran past me. I laid the speaker down and turned up the volume. I moved around a bit to different areas of this flat dinosaur grass covered section. After about 15 minutes no owl had yet to make and appearance. I moved about 10 feet up the path until I noticed a dog walker. They seemed to be taking a picture of something ironically in the same direction the owl would show up in a couple minutes later. Then out of nowhere a large dark brown bird swooped overhead. it landed on a tree about 10 feet in front of me. it started to hoot at the speaker, and it was definitely not a juvenile . It's most defined feature was its white ring around its neck. after a minute it moved right into another tree from a similar distance. My dad must have see it from a distance because he said he had seen me looking at it. Soon it flew back into some trees across the other side of the path and that's pretty much it.
Sep 9th. Tui, George and I went swimming in the evening at Willow Bar on Sauvies Island. Walking back to the car at dusk, we heard and then saw a juvenile great-horned owl begging and flying conspicuously around the clearing.
Sep 16-17. Charlie and I drove out to Lost Valley Rd near Condon. Our quest was to find a couple of small forest owls in Gilliam County, which has just a couple of tiny fragments of forest. We arrived well after dark. It was surprising cold outside. Fortunately we heard a saw-whet owl in the sparse ponderosa forest.
We spent a cold night at Kinzua golf course. Coyotes howled outside the tent and Maile paced and whined, hoping for an invite into our sleeping bags. We returned to the same fragment of forest and searched for pygmy owl. Much to our surprise, we heard a pygmy owl. After some tracking we found it singing fairly low in a small pine. What an excellent find.
Charlie has taken an interest in general birding, so we searched the grassland and sewage-treatment plant near Condon, and were rewarded with some nice migrant sparrows and shorebirds. Charlie also heard a pair of Western Screech owls from the tent, something I slept through.
Sep 24th. Charlie and I visited broken top in search of boreal owls. It was a beautiful clear evening. We walked 6 miles and heard one owl call, but couldn't determine if it was a saw-whet or a boreal.
Sep30th-Oct 2nd. Charlie and went camping with our friends Mark and Justin. The first night we camped at Marion Forks, and hiked to Marion Lake the next day. We didn't see any owls that day, but Charlie was thrilled to see both rough and sooty grouse.
The second night we camped at Calliope Crossing, near sisters. We heard a pair of great-horned owls singing, and occasionally a juvenile called. The next morning Charlie found a flock of pinion jays, which we were really happy to see. Up at Whispering Pines campground we found a lovely pygmy owl.
Oct 8-9. George, Mail and I drove out to Skyline in the Blue Mountains in search of boreal owl. It was a beautiful warm night, but despite perfect condition we found non. We did hear a pygmy owl near our camp site by Jubilee Lake, a great horned on Skyline and we saw a great horned near Walla Walla. We also heard about a dozen elk bugling during the night along Skyline.
Oct 13-16. The whole family drove out to the Wallowa area for a long weekend. Charlie and I got up before dawn and found a beautiful tame spruce grouse just above Joseph. We also found a pygmy owl singing in the same area. Later in the day we all drove out to Zumwalt Prairie, where Charlie and I found a roosting great-horned owl in a barn. We also found three gray partridge there. That evening we drove the back roads near Lostine, where we found three different great-horned owls perched in barn windows. That evening Charlie and I tried for barn owl, which we didn't find, but we did find another great-horned.
We explored Troy on Saturday, hoping to find Chucka, which would be a new bird for Charlie. Alas, we found none. That evening we found a pair of great-horned owls perched in a barn window, where yesterday there had been just one.
Charlie and I got up early and drove out towards Imnaha, we then turned South West along a rough road, where we found a black bear and Charlie's first canyon wren. We also found a couple more great-horned owls along the way.
Nov 6th. Tui and I took a wet afternoon walk around Hoyt Arboretum. Almost immediately we heard a couple of crows calling from some dense fir trees. We found a beautiful barred owl perched on a bough.
Nov 10th. Tui and I took a walk around Oaks Bottom. We heard a huge mob of crows, and followed the sound. A couple hundred crows had found a great-horned owl. As we watched more crows flew in. The owl made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to evade the mob by flying below the canopy.
Nov 13th. Charlie and I visited Koll Wetlands in search of night-heron. We were thrilled to find a roosting adult night heron in some willows. While admiring the red-eyed heron we heard a Virginia Rail, and eventually were able to glimpse the rail darting around under a tangle of Himalayan blackberries. A silent marsh wren was Charlie's 3rd new bird of the morning. On the far side of the wetland we heard a scolding scrub jay. We drove to the far side of the wetland and followed the sound of the jays. A barred owl flew out from a dense stand of Willow trees followed by some angry American crows.
Tui, Maile and I took a walk at Broughton Beach at dusk. I had walked the beach a couple of times lately with Charlie recently but failed to find any owls. Today our luck changed, and a short-eared owl emerged to hunt near the old sea scout base.
Nov 14th. I was walking Maile in Westmoreland Park after dark when I found a barred owl hunting from a bridge. The owl stayed long enough that I was able to return with Charlie. This is the first owl I have seen in the park for a few years.
Nov 19th. Tui and I walked along Iron Mountain in Lake Oswego at dusk. A great horned owl sang a few times from high in a Doug fir. Unfortunately we were not able to find it.
Nov 25th. I took Maile for a wet walk along the side of Oaks Bottom. I found a damp screech owl in the usual cavity of the broken ash tree.
Nov 26th. Charlie and I explored Scapposse Bottoms late in the afternoon. We found a flock of dunlin, which was a new bird for Charlie. At dusk we heard two great-horned owls singing in the distance. We also found 3 beautiful short eared owls that came out to hunt in the rough grassland.
Dec 17th. Charlie and I drove down to Linn county in search of a Burrowing owl that Roy Gerig and Pam Otley had given us directions to. We found the owl late in the afternoon by a roadside culvert. Tgis was Charley's first burrowing owl.
Dec 23rd. Charlie, Maile and I walked along the side of Oaks Bottoms. We had just had a minor ice storm, and it was a good walk. We found the screech owl in the usual roost, plus a Virginia rail under the viewing area. A small ice-free patch of water had both a beaver and a mink.
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