Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge – 05/25/2026

On the morning of Memorial Day I headed to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of photographing some wildlife while taking my longest hike since beginning physical therapy. Heather wasn’t able to join me for this one, so I was on my own when I set off from the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead just before 5:30am.

I followed the same general route as I had last year on May 1st (post) so instead of describing it here please refer to that post if you are interested in those details. Instead, here are some of the sights that I saw on this visit.

Mt. Hood at sunrise.

Lots of lupine in bloom.

Yarrow

Mourning dove

Gadwall and a cinnamon teal drakes

Gadwall

Savannah sparrow

Mallards and a nutria

Mama and ducklings

Cedar waxwings

Northern shovelers and a killdeer

Northern shoveler drake

Nutria

The Visitor’s Center on the hill ahead.

Geese and nutria

Hardhack

Grand collomia and an insect

Goose family

Swallow and purple martin

This viewpoint paid off big today.

A buck and a duck from the viewpoint.

White pelicans from the viewpoint.

Great egret near the viewpoint.

Tree swallow

I got hissed at by a goose from each of these families ahead. We eventually came to an agreement and they allowed me to pass.

Gadwall pair

Purple martins

Common madia

Oregon sunshine

Savannah sparrow and daisies.

Red-winged blackbird

Bald eagle

Song sparrow

Rabbit

Heading toward the Visitor’s Center.

Great blue heron

Blue-winged teal

Barn swallow

Female wood duck and ducklings

Robin

Mule’s ears?

The difference between today’s hike and the route in 2025 was I took a handful of short out-and-back detours at various exploration sites.

Junco

Finch

Rock Creek

Bushtit

Tualatin River

Fringecup

Thimbleberry

Douglas squirrel

Spotted towhee

Bleeding heart

For once this “Wildlife Ahead” sign was correct. There was a rabbit at the far end of the bridge.

Hummingbird

Northern harriers harassing ducks.

Ookow

Cedar waxwings

This covered bench was new.

I spotted a pair of deer in the field shortly before arriving back at the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead.

I was also spotted.

Wildflower garden next to the trailhead. (TH is in the trees.)

Biscuitroot and checker mallow.

A few golden paintbrush were still in bloom.

I wound up adding half a mile to my 2025 route with the out-and-back detours with today’s hike coming in at 5.2-miles.

This was my first time over 5-miles since my injury which was encouraging. So far, I don’t seem to be any worse for the ware. The hike itself was great. After a somewhat disappointing visit to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the month (post) it was nice to see such a variety of wildlife. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge