A day after my long hike at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge (post) I dialed it back a little. For day 5 of my “Wildlife Week” vacation I had two short hikes planned to revisit a pair of wildlife areas along the Tualatin River the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve.
First up was the Tualatin River NWR. We’d visited this refuge twice previously, first in March 2019 and then again in May 2023. The seasonal trails at this refuge are closed from October 1st through April 30th so today was the first day the Wetlands Loop would be open this year.
I parked at the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead as we had done in 2023 primarily because it was a little closer to Jackson Bottom.
My route utilized portions of the seasonal Wetland Trail and the River Trail to make a loop with a short out-and-back on the Ridgetop Trail. It came to 4.7-miles with about 100′ of elevation gain, most of which was on the Ridgetop Trail.
The orange track is a portion of the Wetland Trail that I had not previously hiked.
Mt. Hood from the Wetlands Trail.
I spotted a couple of deer shortly after setting out.
I believe this is a savannah sparrow.
Geese families
Killdeer
It was just under 40 degrees Fahrenheit when I started, but the forecast called for temperatures to reach 80 by the afternoon.
Geese, goslings, and goose eggs.
Sandpiper
Not sure what type of fish this is but they were thrashing about near the shoreline, and I had seen similar behavior the day before in McFadden Marsh at Finley NWR.
Duck and ducklings
Sleeping nutria
Purple martins and a swallow (bottom left).
Egrets and a great blue heron.
Closer look at the egrets and heron.
Robin
I stopped at the Refuge Headquarters to use the facilities, and this pair of bald eagles arrived at the same time.
The eagles on the tree behind the headquarters.
Mallard
Sandpipers
Riverside Trail
Tualatin River
Song sparrow
Inside-out flower
The Ridgetop Trail to the left. There is a bench and railed overlook but the view is blocked by trees. If there hadn’t been any leaves there may have been a view but today there wasn’t.
The only trillium I saw with any petals left.
Bleeding heart
Northern flicker
I spotted an American kestrel in this snag. I had been hoping to see one during this week’s hikes.
American kestrel
Crow
Northern shoveler
Wildflowers near the trailhead.
Lupine, plectritis, checkerbloom, and golden paintbrush.
Not a huge amount of wildlife here today but the kestrel was a nice addition to the list of species seen this week. This was by far the busiest hike of the week, possibly due to it being the first day of the seasonal trails being open. I was done with the hike at 8am so not only was it busy, they were early birds.
It was a 20-minute drive from the refuge to Jackson Bottom Wetland so it was still fairly early when I arrived at the trailhead.
Our previous visit here was last April (post) and we hiked the majority of trails here during that visit, so this was a near repeat except I went in the opposite direction (clockwise).
This route came to 4.4-miles and just 35′ of elevation gain.
In addition to wildlife the preserve has some nice flower gardens near the visitor center.
Camas
Larkspur
Not a native wildflower but pretty.
Columbine
Rabbit
The look on their faces seems to indicate they were not expecting to see me there.
Going back the other way.
Karaoke
Helpful maps and/or pointers are located at trail junctions.
Swallow
Swallows
Cinnamon Teal
Ring-necked ducks
Purple martins
Canada geese
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail passing Oak Island Marsh.
Crow harassing an osprey over Oak Island Marsh.
I thought flamingos were pink.
American coot in NW Pond.
Another napping nutria.
Robin
Gadwall
Egrets at Wapato Marsh.
Great blue heron in Pintail Pond.
Lupine along the trail.
Green winged teal
Heading toward Salamander Slough.
Two turtles and a mallard.
Long billed dowitcher
Cabbage white?
Checkerbloom along the Coyote Hill Trail.
Common yellowthroat
Savannah sparrow
Spotted towhee
Tualatin River
Deer crossing Pintail Pond. I think these are the same three I saw earlier.
I’ve been spotted.
Rabbit on the left along the River Trail.
Salmonberry
Western meadowrue
Wild rose
Stairs leading to the trail on the River Trail.
Jackson Bottom was noticeably less busy than the refuge had been. It was a nice hike with a fairly steady supply of wildlife. These are both good destinations and were a nice addition to wildlife week. Happy Trails!
wanderingyuncks 