Photo Gallery
Photos by Rich Hoyer
On our first morning, we quickly become acquainted with some of the most common and widespread birds in western Oregon, such as this Song Sparrow…
…and this White-crowned Sparrow, of the race pugetensis, posed on a young Noble Fir at the edge of a meadow on Mary’s Peak.
We do see some great birds at the coast, but around every corner is a breathtaking view begging to be photographed.
Band-tailed Pigeon is usually seen on several days while we are still west of the Cascades.
In the lush Willamette Valley we visit several wetlands where Marsh Wren could be heard and seen…
…while Orange-crowned Warblers seem to sing from every bush…
…Rufous-Hummingbirds are conspicuous defending territories…
…and the “Coastal” Bushtit, normally in flocks, is furtive during the peak of the breeding season.
We occasionally stumble onto rarities; this Golden-crowned Sparrow is several weeks late this far south.
We then drive over the Cascade Mountains, looking for Harlequin Duck and American Dipper, paying our respects to ancient old-growth forests…
…and pausing for the famous view of the Three Sisters near Bend.
The vistas change dramatically at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with the fault-block Steens Mountain in the distance dominating the horizon. Most of the region is covered in dry sagebrush flats, but the wet areas are alive with birds, such as…
…this Willet…
…and this intent American Avocet, just a couple of the thousands of birds in the thriving marshes.
Woodpecker diversity is a highlight of this tour, White-headed Woodpecker always being a favorite…
…along with Acorn Woodpecker…
…and here a Lewis’s Woodpecker.
Tours with Rich Hoyer are always a complete natural history experience, here with a Red-spotted Garter Snake to explain its resistance to Red-spotted Newt toxins….
…an Anise Swallowtail “hilltopping” at Aldrich Mountain…
…and an American Badger digging a burrow right by a state highway.