Pedro and me at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in August
Pedro and I visited the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge for the very first time in August. There were so many birds (and nutria) that I instantly made plans to come back with my good camera. This morning I finally did it.
But first, let me show you the photos I took in August, which introduce this facility and the trails to you.
Elevated viewing platform over the top of marshesTrail on the left leads to the green creek. On the right, we see the creek is not filled with algae, but zillions of tiny green leaves.There are a couple of places with a Tualatin River overlook.
We parked on the west side of the wetlands on our first trip, and walked all the way to the visitor center on the east side. We toured the facility, talked with the staff, then completed the 4 mile loop back to our car.
The wildlife refuge visitor center is on a low hill above the wetlands.It’s a nice building with museum exhibits inside, staff, a gift shop, and a large window with telescopes set up for visitors to use.
And now let’s move to photos from today:
There is a TriMet bus stop right here, and this sign at the stopThis sign made me laugh. No running!Main entrance sign, and the house behindThe rising sun cast a long shadow.A Great Blue Heron in the center, a nutria in front of it, and two Mallard ducks in the foreground. This water also has zillions of tiny green leaves, like the photo above.
As I walked in, I knew I was seeking water birds, but I was distracted by many other kinds of birds, happily flying in all directions while the day was still cool. I’ll do my best at bird identification, but if I get any of these wrong, let me know!
Male goldfinchMale goldfinchFemale house finchMale and female Red-winged Blackbirds
Please click through this slideshow to see a group of Great Blue Heron photos.
A few photos of American White Pelicans
Please click through to see photos of Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitchers, both sandpipers
Mallard ducksGreat EgretCanada GeeseAmerican CrowThe refuge has built up spots like this that are attractive to birdsDark-eyed JuncoBarn Swallows were zooming around, rather hard to photograph.I photographed the Killdeer here, but accidentally also got someone else, flying through. Who is that- another sandpiper maybe?
A couple of Killdeer
As you’ve already noticed, the wildlife flourishes so much that lots of species overlap in my photos. Here’s a nutria with…a Mallard? The head looks brown, so I’m not sure.
Photos of nutrias, including juveniles showing their teeth
Another goldfinch? I just love the dead flowers it is perched in.
Belted Kingfisher actively fishing
I think that’s it for my better photos. I spotted more birds that I was not able to photograph, and I heard the cry of a hawk, which was exciting, and I hope to spot it with my camera in the future.
I found the Cornell Ornithology site for Tualatin River NWR, and it lists birds recently spotted and identified. The list shows 119 different kinds of birds identified there this month, and 238 kinds of birds ever spotted there. I think I only positively identified about 18. A person interested in bird photography could happily spend half their life at that place. How lucky we are that it’s a ten-minute drive from the house.
We love visiting this place, and you saw way more birds than we ever did! Perhaps going early is the key. The first time we ever saw white pelicans were here – I’d never heard of them before! There’s a resident bald eagle that hangs out on one of the dead trees in the swamp, and often a juvenile too (at the right time of year).
I wonder if the time of day makes a difference. On our first visit there were a lot of people, so I went early to avoid them. I also wonder if having binoculars or zoom lens makes a difference, because then you can see the birds well enough to see the different species, otherwise, they all look the same. The white egret was hanging out with the white pelicans and looked like just another big white bird until I zoomed in. A regular I talked with said it was the first time he had seen the pelicans this year, but he says they typically migrate through every year.
A fabulous day out and some great bird spotting and photos Crustal. I think the water plant is Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds.
The ducks spread it as it gets in their feathers and carried to other places
Oh I see!
Good shots of you first visit – fascinating leaves masquerading as algae. Then you did really well with the birds and nutrias. My knowledge is not good enough to know if you got any wrong.
I spend so much time on the Cornell ornithology website when I post my photos. It really helped to find pages specifically dedicated to this particular wetland, to see what birds others had seen, so I could narrow it down. There are many sandpipers, and I was getting nowhere with my IDs until I found what types of sandpipers other people were seeing here.
It was fun! I had a nightmare in the night, but had already planned this excursion. By the time I came home, all the scared feelings had washed away on the cool breeze and bird song. It was perfect.
Funny you mention “hike.” As usual, when I go out, I start my fitness tracker. About six times during my morning, my watch beeped and said to me, “It looks like you have finished your workout.” ha ha ha, because I had stopped to listen, or to take photos. But slow walking is better than no walking!
Ooh, sorry about the night mare. These are night mare-ish times. I tend to wake up with early morning dread around 3 am. Maybe worse than a nightmare.
Hiking with a camera and photo-ops has a way of slowing things down for sure!
Thank you Curt. I don’t have nightmares often, but you are right; these are nightmarish times.
That would be a lovely place to visit. Why would anyone want to run though such a lovely scene like that? Thanks for the photos. Best way for me to see things.
You just reminded me of when I catch myself watching the giant screens at concerts. Usually I am sitting so far back that the performers are little specks, and the best way for me to see what they really look like is to watch the screen over their heads. It sort of defeats the purpose of being there, ha ha. I am happy to bring the wildlife right into your desk. Much love, my friend. ❤
Crystal, I’m trying to work in time to visit blogs, and I love that I came to this post. I, too, use a Cornell lab product: Merlin Bird ID; I’ve learned much about calls that way.
Two dear friends are birders and they would love the number and variety of birds at the Tualatin River NWR. And your photos are great. I particularly love the one of the heron on the Green River. Gorgeous!
I love that you and Pedro get out and do so much, and are clearly enjoying life together!
Aww Ms. Laurie, I’m so glad to hear from you. I have been keeping up with your life a little from the posts you share on Instagram. I’m glad that you and your guy keep doing such fun things together too. I love your perspective and photography and your continued joy in life. Glad you are using the Merlin Bird ID too! I had it some years ago, but ended up not using it much, so I just have the Bird ID website on speed dial instead. 🙂 I passed a guy on a trail once who saw me listening, and I explained that I didn’t know the bird call. He whipped out his phone and turned on an app and in about 25 seconds identified the bird for me just based on the song. SO COOL!
Conscious Engagement 
We love visiting this place, and you saw way more birds than we ever did! Perhaps going early is the key. The first time we ever saw white pelicans were here – I’d never heard of them before! There’s a resident bald eagle that hangs out on one of the dead trees in the swamp, and often a juvenile too (at the right time of year).
I wonder if the time of day makes a difference. On our first visit there were a lot of people, so I went early to avoid them. I also wonder if having binoculars or zoom lens makes a difference, because then you can see the birds well enough to see the different species, otherwise, they all look the same. The white egret was hanging out with the white pelicans and looked like just another big white bird until I zoomed in. A regular I talked with said it was the first time he had seen the pelicans this year, but he says they typically migrate through every year.
A fabulous day out and some great bird spotting and photos Crustal. I think the water plant is Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds.
Thanks for the plant ID! That sounds right. It’s a common plant and being called duck weeds makes sense because the ducks were gobbling it up.
The ducks spread it as it gets in their feathers and carried to other places
Oh I see!
Good shots of you first visit – fascinating leaves masquerading as algae. Then you did really well with the birds and nutrias. My knowledge is not good enough to know if you got any wrong.
I spend so much time on the Cornell ornithology website when I post my photos. It really helped to find pages specifically dedicated to this particular wetland, to see what birds others had seen, so I could narrow it down. There are many sandpipers, and I was getting nowhere with my IDs until I found what types of sandpipers other people were seeing here.
It looks like a fun hike, Crystal, attractive and a paradise for bird lovers.
It was fun! I had a nightmare in the night, but had already planned this excursion. By the time I came home, all the scared feelings had washed away on the cool breeze and bird song. It was perfect.
Funny you mention “hike.” As usual, when I go out, I start my fitness tracker. About six times during my morning, my watch beeped and said to me, “It looks like you have finished your workout.” ha ha ha, because I had stopped to listen, or to take photos. But slow walking is better than no walking!
Ooh, sorry about the night mare. These are night mare-ish times. I tend to wake up with early morning dread around 3 am. Maybe worse than a nightmare.
Hiking with a camera and photo-ops has a way of slowing things down for sure!
Thank you Curt. I don’t have nightmares often, but you are right; these are nightmarish times.
That would be a lovely place to visit. Why would anyone want to run though such a lovely scene like that? Thanks for the photos. Best way for me to see things.
You just reminded me of when I catch myself watching the giant screens at concerts. Usually I am sitting so far back that the performers are little specks, and the best way for me to see what they really look like is to watch the screen over their heads. It sort of defeats the purpose of being there, ha ha. I am happy to bring the wildlife right into your desk. Much love, my friend. ❤
Crystal, I’m trying to work in time to visit blogs, and I love that I came to this post. I, too, use a Cornell lab product: Merlin Bird ID; I’ve learned much about calls that way.
Two dear friends are birders and they would love the number and variety of birds at the Tualatin River NWR. And your photos are great. I particularly love the one of the heron on the Green River. Gorgeous!
I love that you and Pedro get out and do so much, and are clearly enjoying life together!
Aww Ms. Laurie, I’m so glad to hear from you. I have been keeping up with your life a little from the posts you share on Instagram. I’m glad that you and your guy keep doing such fun things together too. I love your perspective and photography and your continued joy in life. Glad you are using the Merlin Bird ID too! I had it some years ago, but ended up not using it much, so I just have the Bird ID website on speed dial instead. 🙂 I passed a guy on a trail once who saw me listening, and I explained that I didn’t know the bird call. He whipped out his phone and turned on an app and in about 25 seconds identified the bird for me just based on the song. SO COOL!