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!