Main Tour

Day 1: The main trip begins at 6 p.m. in Portland. Night in Portland. 

Excellent birding opportunities and great leadership from Rich Hoyer. He knows the birds, where and how to find them and how to get us on them. Rich also shared is knowledge and enthusiasm for other wildlife - butterflies, other insects, mammals and snakes (we had a great experience with a gopher snake), and as well how the forest and desert environments work and the geology of Oregon. I learned a lot! Our breakfast and lunch picnics were excellent, with healthy choices and enough variety. Rich made us a chocolate mousse treat one day!The pelagic day was outstanding! The boat and crew did a great job getting us out to the birds and back safely. Bird spotters, including Rich, helpied us identify and learn about the birds. We had amazing numbers of some species and a surprise Great Shearwater, which was on the wrong ocean! -Dixie S.

Day 2: We’ll begin the tour heading south from Portland up the Willamette Valley, a major trough for the river of the same name that flows north between the Coast Range and the Cascades. Although it is the most agriculturally productive region in the state (with such diverse crops as wine grapes, irises, berries, filberts, grass seed, and Christmas trees), large stretches of riverine forest are well protected, and three major national wildlife refuges (Baskett Slough, Ankeny, and Finley) are within driving distance of each other. California Scrub-Jay, Black-headed Grosbeak, Violet-green Swallow, and Vaux’s Swift are examples of common breeding species, and the improved wetlands at the refuges have recently hosted such surprises as Black-necked Stilt, and breeding Wilson’s Phalarope and Black Tern. The large cottonwoods and riparian thickets along the Willamette River and its tributaries are home to Pileated Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, and the sometimes spotless oregonus race of Spotted Towhee. Night in Corvallis.

Day 3: Early this morning we’ll drive to the meadow-capped top of Marys Peak, at 4,097 feet the highest point in the Coast Range, where one can often see and sometimes even hear the Pacific Ocean 27 miles away. Northern Pygmy-Owl, Gray Jay, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and Varied Thrush are some of the forest birds we might see, but our main targets are the elusive Sooty Grouse and Mountain Quail. Both are actually common here though hard to see; late summer is the best time to look for them. Later in the day we’ll visit valley refuges and the requisite sewage ponds for migrant water birds. An evening outing to a nearby forest should yield Western Screech-Owl and possibly also Barred Owl. Night in Corvallis.

Days 4-5: Shorebird migration will be in full swing, so we’ll head a bit south and west to Florence and spend the next two days on the stunningly beautiful and rightfully famous Oregon Coast. From towering headlands and rocky shores we’ll spot Western Gull, Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, and Surf Scoters while keeping an eye out for the scarce Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, and Wandering Tattler.  Amongst the scoters we may spot Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet, and Red-necked Grebe. We’ll check estuaries and mudflats for concentrations of migrant shorebirds which could include Western, Least, Baird’s, and Pectoral Sandpipers, loons, and Heermann’s Gulls. Nights in Florence.

Day 6: Today we head east over the Cascade Mountains. Following the Willamette River into the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains, we’ll stop to admire the lovely, rushing mountain streams while eyeing the boulders for American Dippers. A short stroll through a grove of ancient Pacific Silver Fir, Douglas-fir, and Western Hemlock could reveal mixed flocks including Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet. As we climb the higher mountains and cross the divide, the habitat changes abruptly and dramatically, from a dripping, dense fir-hemlock rainforest to Lodgepole Pine on lava flows only a few thousand years old, to a dry, open Ponderosa Pine–Western Juniper woodland punctuated by willow- and aspen-lined streams. In these drier east-side forests we could see Red-naped Sapsucker, Pygmy Nuthatch, and Green-tailed Towhee. Five species of chipmunk are possible (though telling them apart is a challenge), and if it’s warm enough we could see some delightful butterflies, such as Golden Hairstreak and Lorquin’s Admiral, and bright blue-tailed Western Skinks are common here. Night in Christmas Valley.

Day 7: The primary birding area for this morning is the landlocked basin of Summer Lake, where numbers of gulls, avocets, stilts, and phalaropes breed and stage on their migrations. Some years the numbers of birds are staggeringly high, and we hope to witness such an unparalleled spectacle. Migrant shorebirds are also in evidence here, and we’ll especially be on the lookout for the locally breeding Snowy Plover. After a picnic lunch in the nearby hills we’ll drive past the impressive Abert Lake basin located below the rim of the same name on our way to the next hotel. Night in Burns.

Days 8-10: We’ll have three full days to explore the watersheds of the Harney Basin. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses the heart of this landlocked basin as well as the Donner und Blitzen River valley to the south, is located only 30 miles south of Burns. Well before we actually arrive at the refuge we’ll be birding along the route south of town. Water levels can vary greatly from year to year, but with luck roadside stops will feature ponds and lakes with many species of ducks, Clark’s and Western Grebes, and Wilson’s Phalaropes. Swainson’s Hawks will be thinking about their southward migration, while arctic-breeding Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrows may already be arriving. We’ll check the wildlife refuge headquarters, an oasis of spruce, pine, cottonwood, and elm, as well as other groves of trees such as Benson Pond and P Ranch. These isolated groves in a sea of sagebrush act as migrant traps in spring and fall, and there’s usually a family group of Great Horned Owls roosting in the trees at one of them. We’ll also check the dry upland habitats for sage and juniper specialties such as Sage Thrasher and Sage Sparrow, and we can always hope for a wandering Greater Sage-Grouse on the roadside as we also keep an eye on the cliffs and rimrock for White-throated Swift and Chukar. One of the tour highlights will be our drive to the top of wonderfully scenic Steens Mountain, a fault block mountain with Oregon’s highest road at 9,500 feet, not passable before about July 4 each year due to snow. The view of the Alvord Basin, Oregon’s driest desert, stretching 5,600 abrupt feet below, is awesome. We even have a chance of seeing Black Rosy-Finch in its only known breeding location in the state, as well as an isolated introduced population of Bighorn Sheep.

On the day between trips south to the refuge we’ll venture north into the Silvies River drainage in the superb pine-fir-larch woods of the Ochoco and Blue Mountains. Here we have an excellent chance of finding Williamson’s Sapsucker, White-headed Woodpecker, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Red Crossbill, among many other species. We’ll also make an evening visit here to look for Flammulated Owl, which though difficult to see well can be surprisingly common. Nights in Burns.

Day 11: Our drive back to Portland will take us west and north along the scenic John Day River, the second-longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states. Stops along the way may reveal breeding birds of the coniferous forests such as Lewis’s Woodpecker and Townsend’s Warbler, and we’ll include a visit to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument visitor center. Once we reach the freeway east of The Dalles, we’ll head downriver through the rightfully famous Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, where the continent’s second-largest river cuts right through the Cascade Mountains, and waterfalls and windsurfing opportunities attract many tourists. We’ll have our farewell dinner at the historic Multnomah Falls Lodge in view of the tallest falls in the state before continuing to Portland. Night in Portland.

Day 12: The main trip concludes this morning in Portland.

Newport Post-Tour Pelagic

Day 1 (12): The post-trip extension begins as we leave from our hotel in Portland in the morning and start the three-hour drive to Newport, birding along the way. Once at the coast we’ll have dinner, stock up on lunch and snacks for the boat trip and check into our hotel. Night in Newport.

Day 13: We’ll get to the Newport harbor early in the morning for our all-day boat trip, which departs around 7:00 a.m. As soon as we leave the jetties of the Yaquina River behind, we could start seeing nearshore species such as Common Murre and Pigeon Guillemot, and we’ll make a special effort to look for Marbled Murrelet as well as mammals such as Gray Whale. We’ll then motor for a couple more hours to the edge of the continental shelf, stopping whenever we see birds, such as the likely Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters. At the farthest point we should see Black-footed Albatross, migrant jaegers (all three species are possible), Arctic Tern, and both Red and Red-necked Phalaropes. We’ll be back in port by about 3:00 p.m., finishing the day with our drive back to Portland. Night in Portland.

Day 14: The tour concludes this morning at the Portland Airport area hotel.

2025 Narrative

Brief Summary
Our Oregon in Late Summer WINGS tour in late August and early September went extraordinarily well, with little to no forest fire smoke, superb weather, a great group of participants, and a fabulous roster of bird sightings during our twelve days in the field. Favorites from the coast included a flock of adorable Bushtits at super close range, great views (and photos) of Rhinoceros Auklet between the jetties of the Siuslaw River, and a juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl that we managed to see perched in the open. Unforgettable was the magical fogbow that appeared when the sun began burning off the low beach fog, and Snowy Plovers pattered in the sand ahead of us. Finley National Wildlife Refuge's confiding Wrentits were delightful, while in the highest part of the Coast Range alongside stunning vistas from Marys Peak were a trio of Mountain Quail, first spotted skulking in the thicket of a fallen fir tree before flying over alpine meadow. East of the Cascades we first found White-headed Woodpecker and Pygmy Nuthatch in their classic Ponderosa Pine habitat, while were met with an amazing barrage of water birds at Summer Lake State Wildlife Area: several American Bitterns perched visibly, and Eared Grebes swam with impossibly cute babies riding on the parent's back, while a family group of Great Horned Owls were in the old barn there. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the whole Harney Basin was a gorgeous place to finish up the tour, where we picked up several migrants and saw flock of the scarce Black Rosy-Finch at the top of Steens Mountain. An unplanned detour through the residential area of Burns on our last morning illustrated how that area's Christmas Bird Count manages to tally the largest number of California Quail in the country – several coveys numbering hundreds of birds scampered and fed in the streets and yards everywhere we looked. The pelagic trip extension was simply amazing – calm seas and little wind, lots of Black-footed Albatrosses, a few Laysan Albatrosses, and large flocks of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels were just some of the highlights. In addition to the birds, we enjoyed our picnic breakfasts and lunches in lovely settings and saw some great mammals such as Raccoon, American Badger, and Bighorn Sheep.

Detailed Summary
We started the bird list already on Day 1 with a quick stop before dinner at Broughton Beach, where several Ospreys were the main attraction, but birding began in earnest the next morning at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, where we were met by WINGS founder Will Russell. Shorebird diversity was nice here, but the swallows stole the show, a clean sweep of all seven Oregon species including a rare Bank Swallow. We would later see Violet-green Swallow well at the Monmouth Sewage Ponds before our first picnic lunch at Helmick State Park. At Helmick we called in a mob that gave us great views of Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and our only Hutton's Vireo of the tour. We later stopped at a park where in short order we were watching our target Acorn Woodpeckers.

It's unusual to get all three targets on our morning to gorgeous Mary's Peak, but we did it the next morning. We had to drive the last couple of miles twice, but on the way back up, our target Sooty Grouse was in the road. At the top parking lot, a Northern Pygmy-Owl tooted for a while then perched quietly for a long time, presumably hoping to be forgotten by the mob of Red-breasted Nuthatches so it could get breakfast. We later had Mountain Quail lower down, seen well by just a few but in flight by all. Golden-crowned Kinglet was another highlight from the top of Marys Peak before we retreated to Alsea Falls for picnic lunch. There we had both American Dipper and California Sister in the shallows above the falls. We worked hard for Western Screech-Owl on an after-dinner trip, hearing two of them well, but neither being interested enough to come close.

Our third day began at Finley National Wildlife Refuge with migrant Swainson's Thrushes calling from the undergrowth and a pair of Wrentits coming in very close. Cabell Marsh nearby had good numbers of American White Pelicans. We paid a second visit to Philomath Sewage Ponds, spotting two migrant Red-necked Phalaropes that hadn't been there the day before. Once at the coast we stopped by some rocks on the beach that had our first Black Oystercatcher and many Brown Pelicans. The highlight at our lunch stop at Ona Beach were the Heermann's Gulls, the best views we would get of this species. At Yachats we did some fun ocean watching where Marbled Murrelets were bobbing in the waves, while a Wandering Tattler wandered on the rocks below and a Brown-headed Cowbird showed well back towards town.

Our full day on the Lane County coast near Florence was, well, full. A highlight from our picnic breakfat spot was a very close Pacific Wren and lone Band-tailed Pigeon that sat for scope views. At nearby Siltcoos Beach we felt our way through the fog until it began to burn off, revealing a stunning fogbow and two Snowy Plovers at our feet. Once the ocean was visible, we watched from the top of the dune, seeing very close Pink-footed Shearwaters and Pacific Loons before they realized how close they were to land and moved offshore. Between the jetties of the Siuslaw River were father-chick pairs of Common Murres, several Pigeon Guillemots, and three Rhinoceros Auklets. We picnicked at the fascinating California Pitcher Plant wayside, then dipped a bit into Lincoln County for the spectacular views from Cape Perpetua. Those who forewent some sleep after dinner were treated to an American Barn-Owl flying over, followed by a cooperative juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl, and a distant pair of calling Barred Owls.

As we headed back inland, we stopped for breakfast in the middle of the Coast Range where Red-breasted Sapsucker was the target. It took some work but we eventually had great views of a pair. A Brown Creeper was the highlight at Fern Ridge Reservoir, and the garden of Calliope Corner had several feisty Rufous Hummingbirds, making the normally abundant Anna's Hummingbirds a challenge to see well. The lunch highlight was the view of spectacular Salt Creek Falls, while nearby failed attempts to find Three-toed Woodpeckers resulted in a good sighting of the little-known Shadow Chipmunk as well as two family groups of Canada Jays. As soon as we made a stop in a grove of old Ponderosa Pines, we heard a group of Pinyon Jays just as they were moving off out of sight. But we were able to find two of our targets here, White-headed Woodpecker and Pygmy Nuthatch. After viewing Fort Rock for its fascinating geology, we marveled at the number of Red-tailed Hawks along the roads, finally getting great views of a Ferruginous Hawk in one of the fields. The small marsh next to the restaurant where we had dinner in Christmas Valley was full of birds, including our first Ruddy Ducks.

Summer Lake State Wildlife Area did not disappoint this year, as it was nonstop birding from breakfast to lunch. Marsh Wrens were so numerous to be impossible to census accurately, and we could only estimate the numbers of the dozen species of ducks there. Memorable sightings included several American Bitterns, a family of Virginia Rails foraging in the open, many Black-necked Stilts, and a family of Eared Grebes, with the babies riding on the parents' back. Lunch up in the pine forest was much quieter, but we still were impressed by a White-headed Woodpecker and our first Mountain Chickadees. The numbers of birds that graced the shallows of Lake Abert was hard to comprehend, so we just enjoyed the spectacle while also stopping for a great view of a Bighorn Sheep just above the road.

The wind forecast prompted us to visit Steens Mountain on our first day in the Malheur area, normally saved for last day as a grand finale for its spectacular views. We started with a family of Golden Eagles on the slopes above the highway, delaying our picnic breakfast in Frenchglen, where highlights were Black-chinned Hummingbird and MacGillivray's Warbler. The views up at Kiger Gorge and East Rim did not disappoint, and we were lucky to have a nearly windless and smoke-free day on top of the mountain, though we did have to dodge unusual rain showers. We lucked into a flock of Black Rosy-Finches which didn't linger long for the best of views. Spectacular though were the close fly-bys of several White-throated Swifts right at the peak. We made a stop before lunch to look for migrants along the Blitzen River, getting great views of a Canyon Wren as well as a surprise vagrant Red-eyed Vireo.

Our second day based out of Burns found us in the fabulously diverse coniferous forests of the Blue Mountains. At Idlewild Campground were loose groups of Red Crossbills of at least two types, including the rather out-of-place Type 3 (Hemlock). A MacGillivray's Warbler female showed unusually well here. We made a stop at the Swick Old Growth grove where we had very cooperative Pygmy Nuthatches, and a lone fly-by Clark's Nutcracker perched just right for us, the only one of the entire tour. We then made a beeline for Aldrich Mountain for the stunning views, seeing many migrant Lewis's Woodpeckers and a Prairie Falcon on the way. After lunch we birded the lovely mixed conifer forest, finding a stunning male Williamson's Sapsucker and the very local Slate-colored Fox Sparrow.

Our full day at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge began with Wilson's Snipes in a mudflat close to the road but only obvious if you knew exactly where to look. There were plenty of migrants to look at during our walk around the headquarters oasis, including several Black-chinned Hummingbirds briefly joined by a single Calliope Hummingbird, an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and a Brewer's Sparrow that unseasonably broke out in song at one point. A small group of female or juvenile Bobolinks was a very lucky find along the Center Patrol Road nearby. The oasis at Benson Pond had a Cassin's Vireo, Townsend's Solitaire, Great Horned Owl, and an American Barn-Owl. We picnic lunch at Page Springs where we heard a skulking Yellow-breasted Chat and had migrant Cedar Waxwings and a Lewis's Woodpecker. We made stops of interest at Diamond Craters and the Pete French Round Barn, pausing on the way back to Burns for a huge flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in a field.

An impromptu visit to the local post office as we were departing Burns took us through residential neighborhoods where we got a taste of the abundance of California Quail in town, with many multiple-family coveys around every corner. Mountain Bluebirds graced our picnic breakfast spot in the Silvies Ranch valley, with Sandhill Cranes nearby just down the road. We made a stop at an old burn to arrive at a bunch of bird activity. Again, two types of Red Crossbills were in the treetops, as was a Cassin's Vireo and our second Williamson's Sapsucker. Just down the road we stopped to rescue a Valley Garter Snake that was crossing the highway, only the second snake of the tour. A quick check for migrants during our short Clyde Holliday Park stop resulted in a vocal Western Screech-Owl whose roost up in a cottonwood we readily found. The long drive back to Portland was broken up with worthwhile stops at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, including lunch at the Painted Hills, and we ended the day with our farewell dinner in sight of the lovely Multnomah Falls.

- Richard Hoyer, 2025

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