Oaks Bottom Birdathon!

Today I led a group of Birdathoners around Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in SE Portland. Don't know what Birdathon is? Well, it's Portland Audubon's biggest fundraiser of the year and brings in quite a bit of cash for the organization. Here's how it works:
1. You get friends and family and guys on the street to pledge a dollar amount per species you see on a special "Birdathon" trip in May.
2. You go on said trip and try to see as many species as you possibly can. No faking.
3. You collect hundreds of dollars from friends and family and guys on the street because they had no idea you would see soooooo many species of birds in one day!

Another option is simply to ask for flat donations and then that takes the pressure off a bit.....you know you're going to collect from your donors and your trip is really just the icing on the cake. That's what my group had done.....so we weren't racing madly trying to squeeze in one more species. We ended with a very satisfying 42 species. The list will follow after the fabulous photos.

My Marvelous Group

Goose in an Osprey nest. Osprey has moved across the river.

Hummingbirds and Scrub Jays DO get along!

Green-winged Teal pair

Be sure to get that last crumb......

Anyone need a baby duck fix?

Mallard

Wacky face in the woods

The List!
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Hammond's Flycatcher
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin (at their gourd nests on a houseboat's dock)
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Bewick's Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (we waxed over waxwings.....great looks at dozens of birds)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (literally hundreds all day)
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager (1 brief look at a male)
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak (heard but not yet seen)
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow