Wetlands Walk Sunday

It was overcast and threatening to drizzle on Sunday morning so we thought, "what a lovely day for a bike ride to the wetlands!"

Killdeer

Common Yellowthroat (aka "Zorro Warbler" due to cute mask)

Baby Tree Swallow checking us out.

As we were walking around one of the ponds we flushed out a Bittern, which neither of us had seen before. We also saw several Marsh Wrens (aka "Atari bird"). They are my new favorite bird -- they make sounds like 1980's arcade games. Very entertaining!

Bird-feeder Update

We are loving the bird-feeder on our patio. Andrea has been photographing some of the bolder regulars. They can't keep anything nice...

Spotted Towhee above

Black-capped Chickadee (cleaning up the seed pile)

And Chili's favorite (dun dun DUHNNNNNN)

SQUIRREL!!!

Banks to Vernonia

Wednesday afternoon we rode on the Vernonia-Banks trail between Manning and Vernonia (round trip 32 mi approx.) This is a rails to trails project, and it is awesome! When we started it was drizzling, but as we warmed up our legs the sun started to peak through and by the time we came back it was sunny. The sun never quite made it to Hillsboro, so we were really glad we went!

Can you spot Andrea in her northwest cammo?

Yay! The sun came out!

Kadie pushing her bike up one of the non-hills

This picture brings up an important point regarding the trail. For the most part, it looks flat, but it's a false flat or "faux plat" if you're feeling fancy. So there we were, cruising along at a good pace and my legs just start burning, which brings these thoughts to mind:

a) Why am I so tired today?

b) Maybe I'm getting sick

c) I am so out of shape!

After awhile it dawns on you, oh I've been climbing steadily for the last 12 miles. That is unless you are Kadie who did not think we had been climbing much at all...until we turned to go back. About half way through the descent Kadie remarked "oh, we really did climb a lot!" Hmmm.

Kadie posing with her new pedals and biking shoes

One of my favorite parts of the ride: an old train trestle

Lush.

Dog Gear

DISCLAIMER: We aren't really the sort of people who dress up their dog. But gear is different.

It rains a lot here. We decided that the drier Chili is, the happier we are when she's in the house with us. So voila: GORE-TEX raincoat, in her favorite color even!

Monday at the beach

Chili needed more beach running. We drove down to Newport and had fun. Will write more when recovered...

Mmmm, chowder.

We really are dorks, but we were at the Pacific Ocean on Monday. What did YOU do?

Common Murres and Brandt's Cormorants nesting off Yaquina Head

Harbor seals doing what charismatic megafauna do best

"Hey, is that a sculpin in your craw or are you just happy to see me?"

Tidal pool critters

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, looking up toward the beacon room.

20% chance of rain

The weather forecast for today was a bit optimistic. It has been raining steadily all day so perhaps they meant 20% chance of sun. hmmm. PA school orientation starts this coming Wednesday so Kadie and I took the opportunity to hang around the apartment and recuperate. A few days ago we bought a squirrel proof bird feeder for the balcony. The chickadees have now found the feeder and come in and snag a seed, then retreat back to the big tree (click on the photo to zoom) to munch.

Smith and Bybee Lakes Metro Birdwalk

Portland Metro has a calendar of all kinds of neat events, some free and some for a nominal charge. This morning we got in on a free guided birding walk around the Smith and Bybee Lakes in North Portland. S&B is a 2,000 acre natural area within the city of Portland. Metro bought the land along with its acquisition of the old landfill, so they could essentially keep toxic stuff from leaking out into the surrounding areas. They planted all kinds of native shrubs and trees, many of which produce berries and fruits birds love.

Our guide's name was James, and he was really good. When we first showed up, it was dumping rain, and the sky just seemed to be getting more and more ominous. James quipped that we were "the Few, the Prepared" (there were about 7 brave souls, out of a list of 20 who had reserved spots). He said he could always tell when well-prepared people were arriving: by the sounds of repeated car door slamming as we got out one piece of gear, then another...

I asked him how long he'd been guiding and he said he had 12 years of experience as a naturalist with Metro, and he had pretty much known this was what he wanted to do since third grade!

Since it was raining so hard, we didn't see much bird life at first. But we did see Western Painted Turtles as we walked up to the pond. James had a scope fitted with a neoprene cover, so we all got a good look.

That's when we noticed the Great Blue Heron perched on one leg way up in a dead tree over the pond. Andrea got a good picture.

After walking through the cottonwoods in a deluge for about 20 minutes, the sun peeked out just as we entered a clearing and suddenly there were birds everywhere. We saw 3 American Goldfinches feeding near a group of yellow irises, 7 swallows perched on a dead snag (3 types: Barn, Cliff, and Tree all on the same branch!), and an immature Bald Eagle. The sun came and went several times, and we had a few more showers, but in between we got to see and hear:

• Yellow Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat (aka "Zorro Warbler" according to James)
• Bufflehead
• Pied Grebe
• Downy Woodpecker
• Osprey
• American Coot
• Mallard
• Great Blue Heron
• House Wren (spiraling up a tree eating bugs like a creeper!?)
• Violet-green, Tree, Cliff, and Barn Swallow
• Vaux's Swift
• Killdeer
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Flicker
• Western Wood Pewee
• Bewick's Wren
• Bald Eagle
• Cedar Waxwing
• Wilson's Warbler
• Song Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Black-headed Grosbeak (male and female)
• American Goldfinch

It was a grand day out!

Road bike indoor storage and Panaderia

Kadie and I checked out a local panaderia (mexican bakery) here in Hillsboro. The famed puerquito is a giant animal cookie flavored with molasses and shaped like a pig! Yum.

May 20 Dog Park Exploration Day

Thursday was our third trip to IKEA -- hopefully it will be the last for a while... Andrea's textbooks for this summer just arrived, and we had run completely out of shelf space. We decided to get a large bookcase that would also serve as wall art.

After the shopping extravaganza, we went looking for dog parks. Chili got to run free, chasing the frisbee at Council Crest, Mount Tabor, and another park off NE Glisan that I didn't get the name of.

"Hey. What am I doing back here with all this loot?"

For a late lunch, we hit our favorite Thai restaurant PokPok: Green papaya salad, coconut rice, glazed pork skewers with a peanut dipping sauce, and Thai iced tea.

"Can we take this home and stir fry it?"

May 19 Wetlands Adventure

Wednesday morning Andrea and I ventured out on bicycles into the darkening gloom to the Jackson Bottom Wetlands off highway 219. It wasn't raining until we arrived, but fortunately we had rain coats. I was actually excited for the rain, since it meant I could justify using my new "rite in the rain" birding notebook. There were several trails to choose from, and we took off walking after securing the bikes under the education center's awning. Along the trail were many bird nest boxes and we got to see swallows sitting still for a change. There were also feeders for sapsuckers: wood boxes with parallel lines of holes drilled in them. What a neat idea!

In just under an hour we saw the following species:

• American Goldfinch
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Tree Swallow
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Killdeer
• Mallard
• Bewick's Wren
• Common Yellowthroat
• Cedar Waxwing
• Brown Creeper
• Great Blue Heron
• Barn Swallow
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• American Robin (of course)

As we were heading back to the bicycles, thinking the rain would be bearable with places like this to explore, it started to dump buckets and that's when we realized the folly of going off with no rain PANTS...

Getting home without drowning, we celebrated with hot showers and beer, followed by a viewing of the online Tour of California coverage

We then made popcorn for the first time EVER using just a skillet. It was extremely gratifying to realize we no longer needed to buy the pre-packaged campfire popcorn packs.

Monday Bike Ride

Up and over the West Hills: Not a bad commute, if you're a blood doper! (Or have been training at 5000 ft in Montana)

What better way to spend a sunny Monday than test-riding the zoo commute? Andrea and I took off from the apartment at about 9:30 this a.m. and rode along the Baseline rd. bike route into Cedar Hills and along the Sunset bike corridor up and over the west hills (Andrea wanted me to emphasize the UP part there) to the Oregon Zoo. The ride was about 1 hr and 1/2 (including getting lost, having snacks, posing for photos, and etc.)

It was fun exploring some of the bikeways I've never ridden, and we also went through the Hoyt Arboretum and the Rose Garden before stopping for lunch at a McMennamin's on NW 21st in Portland for burgers. Then, we tootled around the waterfront and finally went for a "Miser Monday" pint at the Lucky Labrador pub in SE before hitting Hawthorne bridge to the MAX. It sure was nice knowing we didn't have to ride up and over the hills again to get home.

The do nothing (mostly) day

The chi helping Kadie with a crossword

Ah Sunday. After a week of moving, unpacking, 2 trips to IKEA, and checking out the local parks, markets and the coast, we needed a day off. So we decided we would not drive anywhere or make any decisions (exceptions of course for the previous 2 decisions...). We hopped on our bikes and rode down to Orenco Station, a newer area with lots of shops, to pick up a NY Times. We were pleasantly surprised with a market there that is similar to the co-op. Although their meat counter has a LONG way to go to even compare, they had good organic produce and bulk foods. Yeah! We also saw that yesterday's farmers market that was in the downtown area was today at Orenco. Cool...another chance to not buy those yummy looking fresh made mini donuts. We spent the afternoon out on the balcony reading the paper and listening to all the birds in the forest behind the apartment. Kadie brought out a large pillow so there was comfort all around.

At the beach with Chili

Saturday, after hitting the Hillsboro farmer's market for veggies and some fancy sausage, we headed to the coast. Chili got her first taste of the ocean (literally) and had a great time chasing gulls and breaking up driftwood. She really liked running on the sand.

The Big Move: Catch Up

Well, it's been a busy week! It's tough to keep up with all the moving, unpacking, IKEA shopping, and so forth so the blog has been idle. Here's a quick catch up posting. We will try to put up more stories soon!

Andrea and Kaaren in Hood River, OR at Horsefeathers. The food was pretty good, and the outdoor seating overlooked a beautiful garden with flowering trees and sunshine. It was T-shirt weather!
A French restaurant in Portland we hit for lunch on our city excursion day. Snails, shoestring fries and quiche, with a dessert of warm gourmet cookies, artisanal ice cream, and sauces. Tres bon!
Chili likes the new IKEA dog bed. It didn't take long for her to claim it.
My little Mazda pickup did pretty well hauling the trailer: I only shifted down to 3rd gear a few times going over the passes. Andrea has a lot of pics of the trailer.

Pelicans at Cherry River

Andrea and I needed a break from packing on Saturday evening, so we headed out to Cherry River to see who was there. Andrea caught this great picture of the pelicans as they swirled around above us. There were at least 30 of them on the pond, and as you can see from their knobby bills, they are all feeling very amorous.

The simple act of observation is very calming, especially when combined with the chorus of song from red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, geese, ducks, teals, and robins.

As I write this post, it is about 5:19 a.m. on Monday, and our backyard robin just started singing. I hope we'll have plenty of that in Portland, too!