April

Well, I've been working on a longer post about the restoration work I did in April but it's slow going so here's what else I was up to last month. Mostly what I've been up to besides the boring stuff is, maybe unsurprisingly, looking at birds.

Spring migration really starts in April so it's a pretty exciting time to get out. On top of that - Bird Alliance of Oregon starts their annual, weekly songbird walks in April. The first one is the Wednesday Tabor walk which has been going on much longer(decades) than these official walks. I refer to it as Opening Day for Birders.

I also got to do quite a bit of birding on my way to, during and after my restoration work in Central Oregon so here's a highlight reel of all of that

A Red-breasted Nuthatch excavating a nest cavity - Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

This Great Egret has been a regular at Whitaker Ponds and loves this spot for fishing

I got to see an Anna's Hummingbird on a nest for the first time at Whitaker Ponds!

A Bewick's Wren singing at Fernhill Wetlands

Some Black-capped Chickadees in the neighbor's yard

A rare Portland bird - an Eastern Phoebe at Whitaker Ponds

A juvenile Great-horned Owl at Mt Tabor. Just look at this cute muppet!

A Grey Flycatcher in Central Oregon. Lifer!

Canyon Wrens at Sherars Falls near Maupin

My other April highlight happened at Whitaker Ponds. I was done birding but it was rush hour and I didn't want to ride my bike home in traffic so I sat down on a log by the back pond. Suddenly all the ducks scattered so I looked around for a bird of prey but then saw something swimming towards me. I kinda assumed it was a Nutria since there are so many around but they don't scare birds. It swam pretty much up to the edge of the pond, dove and came up with a fish. That's when I realized it was a River Otter. It was so close and I was able to get some great pictures of it chomping on its catch

And then it move over to a different log where I got some nice senior portrait shots of it

March

The months just keep flying by spring has certainly arrived. I'm excited for the arrival of returning birds that will nest here and those that are passing through on their way north or to higher elevations. With our abnormally dry and warm winter, many are arriving well ahead

February

I kinda didn't realize it was already March. February was truly busier than I would have liked and just flew by. I cannot believe the rate at which things to be deteriorating in the world of politics, civil rights, healthcare etc(really everything) and I am thankful to

January and how to keep existing in this mess

Writing this a bit late because, like everyone else, I'm already exhausted and this January was officially the longest month on record. I'm pretty sure everyone is just doing whatever they can to get by. A fine balance of doom scrolling with doing the things needed

We made it

We made it to the shortest day of the year. Like a lot of other days in 2025, I spent part of it looking at birds. Today I went out to Raccoon Point on Sauvie Island. I watched a massive flock of Snow Geese hang out on the water and

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March

February

January and how to keep existing in this mess

We made it