Tag: Wildlife

Fernhill Wetlands – 05/04/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 7, 2026
1 Comment on Fernhill Wetlands – 05/04/2026

For our next short outing while I rehab we decided to return to Fernhill Wetlands for some birding. This destination allowed us to do a 3.5-mile hike first thing in the morning then meet up with Heather’s biological father and his wife for breakfast at McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove.

I had been feeling good following our hike at Wild Iris Park two days earlier in Eugene (post), however I woke up on this morning with a sore and tight right hip (again). It loosened up a little after my morning stretching session, but it was still a bit irritated as we set out from the Fernhill parking lot just before 7am.

We started at Fernhill Marsh and began a counterclockwise loop.

Today’s track.

Heading toward Fernhill Marsh.

We spotted a few ducks, at least one goose, a number of long billed dowitchers, and a sandpiper.

Long billed dowitchers

Goose

Mallard and a dowitcher

Gadwall

Sandpiper on the far side of the marsh.

Camas at Fernhill Marsh.

We made our way around Fernhill Marsh to the gazebo overlooking Cattail Marsh.

Thimbleberry

Twinberry

Sparrows

Roses

The gazebo at Cattail Marsh.

Red-winged blackbird

There wasn’t much to see in the marsh from the gazebo, but we were visited by a rather grumpy looking sparrow while inside the gazebo.

We continued on our loop from the gazebo then took a right when we reached Eagle Marsh. While it is possible to hike out and back along Eagle Marsh looping around it is not possible. With the morning sun low on the horizon the view from the western side of this marsh would be looking almost directly at it which is why we skipped this detour.

Mallard on the path.

American coot in Cattail Pond.

Rabbit near Eagle Marsh.

Green-winged teals in Eagle Marsh.

Cattail Marsh gives way to Fernhill Lake and as we passed between the lake and Eagle Marsh we detoured down a short path to the lake where a great blue heron was hunting for breakfast.

The heron out in Fernhill Lake.

Gadwall in the same area as the heron.

We continued to the junction at the far end of the marshes, and this time did detour on the out and back along Eagle Marsh.

The path between the lake and Eagle Marsh.

Damsel fly

Sparrow

Goose having a bad feather day in Eagle Marsh.

Mallard drake on a log in Eagle Marsh.

Starling

Another great blue heron in Eagle Marsh.

After reaching the end of this spur we headed back to Fernhill Lake and continued our loop around.

Fernhill Lake from the junction.

One of several families of geese along the lakeshore.

Purple martins

These fish, possibly invasive carp, could be seen up and down the shores of Fernhill Lake.

Yet another heron at Fernhill Lake.

We paused at a second gazebo, this one overlooking the Barney Wetlands where we had spotted some tundra swans during our visit in February 2024 (post).

Not much to see in Barney Wetlands on this day.

Cliff swallow in the gazebo.

We continued on to the Dabbler’s Marsh Trail and took a right onto it.

We hiked the Dabbler’s Marsh Loop counterclockwise. There wasn’t much to see on this day but the views across the grassy fields were nice.

Cinquefoil

Fringecup

Robin

After finishing the 1.4-mile Dabbler’s Marsh Trail we looped through the Water Garden (sans water) before returning to our car.

Brown headed cowbird

Sparrow in the parking lot.

This was least amount of wildlife we’d seen on our three visits here, but there was still enough for it to be enjoyable. Our breakfast at McMenamins Grand Lodge was excellent and we had a great time catching up with Jeff and Mary and even got to meet Mary’s sister and her husband before saying our goodbyes. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fernhill Wetlands

Tags Cattail Marsh, Dabblers March Loop Trail, Eagle Marsh, Fernhill Lake, Fernhill marsh, Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, great blue heron, hiking, Oregon, Wildlife

Central Coast Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Coast Trip report

Nehalem River Corridor – 03/28/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date March 30, 2026
3 Comments on Nehalem River Corridor – 03/28/2026

A left leg issue caused me to put hiking on hold for about a month. I was experiencing shifting discomfort and tightness from the piriformis down to the calf. It seemed to be a different location every day and after a couple of weeks the area around my knee was consistently feeling tight. X-rays and an exam showed the knee itself was in good shape structurally, so I’ve been referred to physical therapy. My first PT appointment isn’t until mid-April, but in the meantime the leg has been gradually improving and the orthopedist said I had no restrictions other than to not overdo it.

With that in mind we decided to see how my leg responded to hiking with a multi-stop outing of up to four short hikes in and around the Nehalem River Corridor. The short hikes would allow me to test my leg while allowing us to easily cut the day short if necessary.

We started our morning with the shortest of the planned hikes, a visit to Umbrella Falls at the Nehalem Fish Hatchery. We had attempted to visit the waterfall in February of 2021 prior to our North Fork Nehalem River hike (post). The hatchery was closed to the public due to COVID restrictions and although walking through to the river would probably have been allowed, we opted to save it for another time. That time was now and we opted to park at the North Fork Nehalem County Park adjacent to the gate at the hatchery entrance which acts as parking for non-disabled anglers.

We walked down the entrance road stopping at the rearing ponds to look at some of the fish then continued to the western end of the hatchery to a sign for the Umbrella Falls Trail.

We followed the trail 250 yards to Umbrella Falls across the North Fork Nehalem River.

Violets

Umbrella Falls

After visiting the falls, we continued on the short loop back to the hatchery and returned to the car.

Trillium

Coltsfoot

Bald eagle above the hatchery.

This stop was just over three-quarters of a mile. Umbrella Falls is a nice waterfall, and the fish hatchery added quite a bit to see.

My leg felt great during the first stop, so we drove to our next stop at the Nehalem River Dike. There is limited parking along the shoulder of Tideland Road. There is room for a couple of cars at the location linked above. We wound up parking approximately 100 yards to the south along the shoulder to the road.

The gate at the trailhead in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide.

There is a three-quarter mile section of a grassy dike open to hiking. The dike travels between the Nehalem River and the Nehalem Bay wastewater ponds. The draw of the hike is wildlife viewing and we were not disappointed.

Swallows

One of a several great blue herons.

Red-winged blackbird

The city of Nehalem across the river.

Mallards

Scaup

One of the wastewater ponds.

Seal

Common mergansers

Northern shovelers

Great blue heron

End of the dike trail.

Heading back.

Sparrow

Bufflehead

Caterpillar

Bald eagle

Northern flicker

Cormorant

This hike was just over 1.75-miles with nice views and a lot of wildlife which made for an enjoyable hike.

I was still feeling good so when we got back to the car we headed for our third planned stop at the Nehalem Falls Campground. With the campground still closed for the season we parked near the gate at the entrance road.

We walked down the entrance road a tenth of a mile to a sign for the “Hiking Trail”.

Skunk cabbage

Day use parking area

We headed down the trail which quickly drops near the river at Nehalem Falls. These falls are more of a rapid with the tallest drop being just 8′. Depending on the water volume the drop isn’t visible.

Violets

The fish ladder is visible to the far right. At times this too is underwater and not visible.

Pink fawn lilies

After visiting the falls, we continued on the hiking trail which loops around the campground in just under a mile.

Bleeding heart

Blackberry blossoms

Trillium

One of several benches along the loop.

Fall Creek

Chestnut-backed chickadee

Toothwort

There were a lot of trilliums along the trail.

The trail dropped us into the campground.

A short walk along the campground road led us back to the day use parking area to complete the loop then we walked back up to our car.

The final hike we had planned was located less than a mile from the Nehalem Falls Campground at Cougar Valley. In 2007 an Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation proposal included development of a 315-acre parcel of land located in Cougar Valley that had been purchased by the State in 2005. Local pushback on the proposal suspended that development and today the tract of land is open for day use only. The abandoned Lost Creek Road serves as what All Trails refers to as the Lost Creek Trail. This “trail” is not officially maintained, at least not frequently.

We parked at the gated roadbed and set off on a grassy track through blackberry bushes.

There were dozens of snails along the roadbed.

Maple meadow. The land had previously been the homestead of Cougar Bill and Cougar Marie, mountain line bounty hunters.

Lost Creek below Lost Creek Road.

Lost Creek

Salmonberry

One of two washed out areas along side creeks, possibly from flooding in February 2026.

Pacific wren

Mushroom

Rusted dozer blade

We made it almost a mile and a half before we began to encounter overgown conditions.

After picking our way through the first section we came to an even thicker mass of vegetation and decided to turn around. The old logging road had originally continued a couple more miles, and the roadbed had been accessible to at least the 1.75-mile mark where it crosses Lost Creek. Time has allowed nature to slowly reclaim the roadbed though.

Our turnaround point.

We headed back toward the car but took a short detour 0.4-miles before the trailhead down an old spur road that led to an old bridge over Lost Creek.

The old bridge from Lost Creek Road.

The spur road is on the right heading out Lost Creek Road. Since we were on the way back it was a left for us.

A very rough trail was cut through the blackberry bushes. We came away with quite a few scratches.

I didn’t trust the bridge enough to try stepping on it.

Lost Creek from the edge of the bridge.

After checking out the bridge we fought our way back up through the blackberries and returned to our car.

Our hike in Cougar Valley came in just under three miles and Nehalem Falls had been 1.1-miles.

One note is that we both did wind up with a tick on our long sleeves post hike. With the unusually warm, dry winter all reports indicate they are bad all over the State this year and this was the first time we’d picked any up in the Coast Range. It was a good reminder to always perform a tick check at the end of your hikes.

In all the four stops wound up being 6.6-miles with just 175′ of elevation gain. Here is a look at the relative location of our four stops.

My leg held up surprising well and as I am writing up this trip report the next day it’s still feeling good which is encouraging. Our plan is to take things easy and hopefully the physical therapist will be able to identify whatever the issue is and we’ll go from there. In the meantime, Happy Trails!

Tags Cougar Valley, hiking, Lost Creek, Lost Creek Road, Lost Creek Trail, Nehalem Dike Trail, Nehalem Falls, Nehalem Falls Campground, Nehalem Fish Hatchery, North Fork Nehalem County Park, North Fork Nehalem River, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Umbrella Falls, Wildlife

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day6: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands 05/02/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 4, 2025
4 Comments on Wildlife Week – Day6: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands 05/02/2025

Originally I had planned to do my hike at Finley Wildlife Refuge (post) on the Friday of Wildlife Week, but going into the week the forecast called for rain showers. I rearranged the order to move Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands to Friday morning feeling in hopes that I could finish these hikes before 11am when the showers were forecasted to start. By the end of the week the chance of showers had been replaced by mostly sunny skies.

We visited Wapato Lake in February 2024 (post) and had enjoyed the short hike. Located in Gaston, OR the trailhead is just under an hour from Salem. A paved path leads to a footbridge over Wapato Creek and then dikes lead right for 2 miles and left for 0.6. We hadn’t done the full 2-miles to the right in 2024, so I started with that section then hiked to the end of the 0.6-mile section before returning to the car for a total of 5.6-miles with virtually no elevation gain.

All trails are open from February 1st through September 30th, then from October 1st through November 30th the final 1.3-mile stretch to the right (south) is closed, and there is no hiking allowed during hunting season from December 1st to January 31st.

There were a lot of ducks, geese, and herons at the lake along with smaller birds in the surrounding trees.
Geese

Osprey

Killdeer

Meadow checker-mallow

Wood ducks

Northern shovelers

Ducks, geese, and a heron.

Scrunched heron

Stretched heron (same heron)

Sparrow

A different heron and a duck.

Yep, it’s a nutria.

Spotted sandpiper

One of several benches located along the dikes.

American coot

Gadwall

Dove

Crow

American kestrel

Swallow

Cinnamon teals having a disagreement.

End of the trail to the south.

View from the end of the trail.

Wood ducks

Robin

Short billed dowitchers

Green winged teal

Hooded merganser and a gadwall

Ring-necked ducks

Heading to the left (NNE) now.

Red-winged blackbird

Egrets, herons, and ducks.

Great blue heron and egret

Cinnamon teal and northern shoveler

Hooded mergansers and a cinnamon teal

Northern shovelers and a northern pintail on the right.

California quail

End of the trail in this direction.

One thing to note is that the bathroom is currently closed due to budget shortages. Other than that, this was a great hike with a nice variety of wildlife and no other people.

From Gaston it was just a ten-minute drive to Fernhill Wetlands.

We had also been here in February 2024 (post), but not on the same day as Wapato Lake. I did virtually the same route today as on that trip which is described in detail in that trip report.
My 3.3-mile track with minimal elevation gain.

The wildlife was sparser here than it had been on our previous visit, but there were a few species about. I also saw my fourth and fifth Bullock’s oriole of the week. Every one of these I’ve spotted have been while flying past me with their bright orange feathers flashing momentarily only to disappear into a tree or bush. I did have some more cooperative subjects though including the first hummingbird of the week.
Swallow

Osprey

Killdeer

American coot

Mallard

Anna’s hummingbird

A bit of the pink on it’s throat.

Ring-necked ducks
Bald eagle

Gadwalls

Song sparrow

Purple martins

Pied billed grebe

Mallard and ducklings

Mallards

Fringecup

Rabbit

Sandpipers

Ground squirrel

American goldfinch. I’d seen a number of these this week but had only managed a picture of the back of one at Finley Wildlife Refuge.

This was another fun morning of looking for wildlife, but my feet and legs are more than happy that there is only one day of Wildlife Week left. The plan is for Heather to join me on the last hike, and we are hoping to check out a couple of waterfalls before stopping at Fern Ridge Wildlife Area west of Eugene. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wapato Lake NWR and Fernhill Wetlands

Tags Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, Gaston, hiking, Oregon, Wapato Lake, Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Wildlife, Willamette Valley

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day 5: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Bottom Wetlands 05/01/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 3, 2025
No Comments on Wildlife Week – Day 5: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Bottom Wetlands 05/01/2025

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!

Flickr: Tualatin River WLR and Jackson Bottom

Tags Coyote Hill Trail, hiking, Hillsboro, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail, NW Pond. Salamander Slough, Oak Island Marsh, Oregon, Pintail Pond, River Trail, tualatin river, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Wapato Marsh, Wetlands Trail, Wildlife

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week Day3: Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge 04/29/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 1, 2025
No Comments on Wildlife Week Day3: Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge 04/29/2025

Overnight and morning rain showers delayed day 3 of wildlife week but by 9am things were starting to clear up. With the later start I had decided it would be the day I visited Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge. It is the closest refuge to our home in Salem, just under 20 minutes, and I was only expecting to do a 5-to-6-mile hike meaning I’d likely still be home around Noon. This was my sixth visit to the refuge (2010, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024) and I was looking to do something a little different during this visit. Looking at the refuge map and Google Earth there was a possible route/trail around the base of Baskett Butte along it’s west and south sides and my mission today was to check it out. I wound up with a 5.5-mile lollipop (with a short handle).

I parked at the familiar Baskett Butte Trailhead and set off on the signed trail staying right at junctions eventually passing Morgan Lake, the Smithfield Road Trailhead and Moffitti Marsh.

You can actually see some of the route I explored on the left side between Parvipes Marsh and the butte and at the bottom of the picture wrapping around the butte.

It might be wildlife week but for the first half mile I saw more wildflowers than wildlife.
Manroot

Camas

Plectritis

Checkerbloom

Tolmie’s mariposa lilies

My first non-flying bird wildlife sighting was a doe from the saddle on the butte.

After watching her for a moment I started to move and noticed two more deer on the other side of the trail in the woods.

Morgan Lake with a bit of Moffitti Marsh to the left.

Columbine

Iris

Robin

Sparrows

Gold crowned sparrow

The grass was low enough that the lake was fairly visible. Later in Spring you’re lucky to see any water from the trail.

Not a great picture due to the distance and light, but there are a couple of ruddy ducks to the left hanging out with some ring-necked ducks.

Mallards

American coot

Gadwalls

Buffleheads

Common yellowthroat

At the end of Morgan Lake (by the sign above) I started scanning the wetland below for a bittern. I’ve heard them in the area before and had them fly off before I could get a picture, but I was usually coming from the other direction. This time I had the high ground, and it made a difference.
Looking for a bittern.

American bittern. I could only see the bittern from a very short section of trail and as soon as I lost a little elevation it disappeared from sight. It never flew off, but I couldn’t see it even knowing where it was.

Following the trail next to Smithfield Road.

Lots of red-winged blackbirds near the trailhead.

Finch

Heading back toward Baskett Butte and Moffitti Marsh.

Northern flicker

Moffitti Marsh

American wigeons

Female common yellowthroat

Spotted towhee

I watched a crow chase off a hawk that had apparently gotten too close.

The official trail heads up the hill to the left. I veered right just beyond the trail sign pointing toward Moffitti Marsh.

I followed tire tracks from the refuge vehicles through the muddy grass. It wasn’t the easiest walking, but it wasn’t too hard to follow the tracks.

Lilac

Parvipes Marsh ahead to the right.

A refuge tractor was a little behind me so when I came to a “T” junction with a clear but less worn track heading uphill to the left I turned that way.
The tractor turned right and drove over a dike at the end of Parvipes Marsh to a field on the other side.

Deer farther up the hillside.

The track I was on turned to the right and traversed the hillside around the butte.

This appears to be balsamroot. There were just a couple of patches on the SW side of the butte.

Cottonwood Pond

Buttercups and miniature lupine

Meadow checker-mallow

Lomatium and plectritis

South Slough Pond

I was a bit surprised to find a bench along this route given it isn’t shown as an official trail.

Grass pea

More checkerbloom

Golden paintbrush

The path I was on was leading toward Coville Road and I could see the trailhead, but I hadn’t been to the overlook on Baskett Butte yet. In 2023 I had come down from the overlook on a trail that connected up with the track I was on, so I kept watch and then turned uphill when I spotted the tread.
If I hadn’t been looking for the tread I don’t think I would have noticed it.

Lupine

Another Tolmie’s mariposa lily

Western meadowlark

The overlook ahead.

The obligatory photo from the overlook.

It was a steep climb up to the overlook and in hindsight I was wishing I had done the loop in the opposite direction. I had opted not to do that though because I wasn’t 100% this route was going to work. After a brief break at the overlook I headed down to the trailhead on the official trails.

Lots of patches of plectritis on the butte.

Ground squirrel

Swallow

Before heading home I drove up Coville Road to the parking area at Cottonwood Pond since I had seen a lot of birds on the water during my hillside traverse.
Baskett Butte from the Cottonwood Pond parking area.

Mallards

Northern pintails

Northern shovelers

Lesser scaup. They look a lot like ring-necked ducks only without the ring.

Ring-necked ducks

Nap Time.

Another nice day at a wildlife area. In addition to the photographed subjects a bald eagle, Bullock’s oriole, goldfinch, turkey vulture, and Canada geese all flew by me but refused to pose for a picture. The next couple of days are forecast to be sunny before more showers arrive on Friday in time for the weekend. Hopefully I will have some cloud free morning light over my next couple outings. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Baskett Slough 2025

Tags American Bittern, Baskett Butte, Baskett Butte Trailhead, Baskett Slough Wildlife Refuge, Cottonwood Pond, deer, hiking, Moffitti Marsh, Morgan Lake, Northern Pintail, Oregon, Parvipes Marsh, Rich Guadagno Memorial Loop Trail, Ruddy Duck, Salem, Smithfield Road Trailhead, Wildlife

Corvallis Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day 1: E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area 04/27/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 29, 2025
2 Comments on Wildlife Week – Day 1: E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area 04/27/2025

We have been fortunate in years past to both have the ability to take 4 weeks of vacation each year which helped immensely in our completing our “500 featured hikes” goal last year (post). Heather’s job had changed in late 2023 resulting in her losing a couple weeks of vacation time each year so after taking a couple of weeks of unpaid time-off in 2024 to complete our hiking goal I have a few solo weeks in 2025. For the first solo week I went with a theme, wildlife week, and planned a series of hikes at various federal and state designated wildlife refuges/areas in the Willamette Valley.

I kicked wildlife week off with a visit to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area located just north of Corvallis (about 30 minutes from Salem). We’d hiked here in July 2022 (post) but had yet to check out the short Coffin Butte Trail located along Highway 99. Today’s plan was to hike that trail then revisit the Angling Pond from our first trip. There is a $10.00 daily parking fee at the 20 ODFW wildlife areas or you can get an annual fee for $30.00

I pulled into the Coffin Butte Trailhead just before Sunrise (6:07am) in hopes that it might be a colorful morning, but alas the cloud cover was solid.

This is a fairly straight forward trail that initially follows a wide grassy track as it climbs to a viewpoint overlooking the wildlife area. The trail then continues, steeply at times, up Coffin Butte to the boundary of the refuge. This upper section is rougher, more overgrown, and full of poison oak and there are no real views. The trail is also next to the Coffin Butte Landfill which means that it can be a bit smelly if the air is moving in the right (wrong) direction. That being said I did the full 1.6-mile out-and-back (455′ of elevation gain) just to say I had and hope that I effectively avoid the leaves of three.
The landfill to the left.

One of two pointers to keep hikers on track.

Sign at the viewpoint.

The remains of a bench at the viewpoint.

Buttercups and iris

The sign announces the “Summit 604′”, but the actual summit is further along the ridge on private property meaning the trail ends here.

A mariposa lily surrounded by poison oak.

After reaching the “summit” I returned to the car and made the one-mile drive to the Angling Pond Parking Area
The busy parking area.

I wandered a bit to the NE of the parking area on trails before returning to the parking area and re-hiking the lollipop loop we’d done in 2022. I changed it up a bit by doing the loop counterclockwise this time. Before returning to the car, I also detoured west along one of the refuge roads to see a little more of the area. There are ample opportunities to explore here, a sort of choose your own adventure. My hike today still only came to 2.7-miles with virtually no elevation gain, but I opted not to explore more in an attempt to pace myself over the next several days.
My route and the Coffin Butte Trail.

There were a lot of birds out, but the majority did their best to be heard and not seen. That being said I did manage to get photos of a few species making it a successful start to wildlife week.
Wandering on trails to the NE of the parking lot.

Apple blossoms?

Concrete structure left over from Camp Adair.

Turkey vultures

Turkey vulture

Heading for the pond.

There were all kinds of birds singing in the trees but nary a feather to be seen.

Iris

I believe this walkway is new since or previous visit.

There were quite a few folks fishing around the pond, and one great blue heron.

Wetlands across the trail from the pond.

Buffleheads

Pied billed grebe

Camas

Hooded merganser drake

Mallards

Killdeer and hooded mergansers

Sandpiper

Heading west through the wildlife area.

Hummingbird

Family of geese

Robin

Black capped chickadee

Northern flicker

Wetlands

Blackbird

Groundsquirrel

It was a good start to wildlife week and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing quite a few more critters as the week progresses. Happy Trails!

Flickr: E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Tags Angling Pond, Coffin Butte, Coffin Butte Trail, Coffin Butte Trailhead, Corvallis, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, hiking, Oregon, Wildlife

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Fanno Creek Trail – 04/26/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 28, 2025
No Comments on Fanno Creek Trail – 04/26/2024

The Fanno Creek Trail is part of the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District offering several miles of paved trail along Fanno Creek in Beaverton and Tigard. The current trail is 8.3-miles in length with plans to eventually extend the trail between Willamette Park in Portland to the Tualatin River in Durham. The urban trail passes through a number of parks, and we planned on hiking a section that included five such parks. Before starting our hike though we made a short detour to check out Koll Wetlands.

There is no hike at Koll Wetlands, you just park behind some businesses and look for birds and other wildlife.

We arrived too early for decent pictures due to cloud cover limiting light, but we spotted a rabbit and a number of ducks and other birds.

Duck and ducklings along with a killdeer.

After checking out the wetlands we drove to the Denney Road Trailhead.

We headed south on the trail into Fanno Creek Park and followed the paved path 0.7-miles to a crossing of SW Hall Boulevard.

Chickadee

Mallards

Fanno Creek

Thimbleberry and service berry

We crossed SW Hall Boulevard and entered Greenway Park.

Northern flicker

There are several loop options available in this park if the water isn’t too high. The water was low enough today that we were able to stay left at all junctions and only had to navigate a few feet of muddy, flooded trail.

Hummingbird

Red-winged blackbird

Squirrel

The Greenway Loop Trail had the only flooded section on this day.

Wetlands along the Greenway Loop Trail.

Goose

Hooded mergansers

After rejoining the Fanno Creek Trail at the southern end of Greenway Park we passed under SW Scholls Ferry Road.
This is another section that may flood at high water times.

Shortly after passing under the road the trail passes a sign for Englewood Park.

We spent some time here watching a female mallard attempt to join the drakes along with her ducklings only to be repeatedly chased off.

Mallards ducklings

The ducklings finally making it across the trail.

Goose and gosling

Avens

The trail jogged right at a crossing of SW North Dakota Street then crossed SW Tigard St to enter Dirksen Nature Park.

Camas

Dirksen Nature Park

Viewing platform

Wetlands from the viewing platform.

Dove

Finch

Robin

We continued through the nature park and crossed SW Tiedeman Ave. Two tenths of a mile later we arrived at the Woodard Park Trailhead near the park’s playground.

Lupine

Woodard Park Trailhead.

We made this our turnaround point and headed back. We stayed left again in Greenway Park to complete the three loops there. The trail was fairly busy on the way back but not too crowded and there was still quite a bit of wildlife to see.
This may be a lesser goldfinch, I wasn’t able to see anything but its rear end though.

Spotted towhee

Wood duck

Our out-and-back on the Fanno Creek Trail came to 7.1 miles with minimal elevation gain.

This was a nice urban hike, and we can see why it’s popular with all types of trail users. Dirksen Nature Park was a highlight and looked like it would be a great place to bring the kiddos. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Koll Wetlands and the Fanno Creek Trail

Tags Beaverton, Englewood Park, Fanno Creek, Fanno Creek Trail, Greenway Loop Trail, Greenway Park, hiking, Hooded merganser, Koll Wetlands, Koll Wetlands Park, Oregon, Tigard, Wildlife, Wood Duck, Woodard Park

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 26, 2023
No Comments on 2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

This year we split our wildlife gallery into two posts starting with our feather friends (post). We now move on to our featherless friends which ranged from tiny ants to bull elk and an almost too friendly black bear. It was an especially good year for deer including several encounters with does and fawns.

We’ll start out small and work our way up to the larger mammals.
Ants dropping sawdust from a log along the Catherine Creek Trail. We sat and watched these busy ants for quite a while. They had created a good-sized pile on the ground below.

We see a lot of beetles but usually not all at once like these lady bugs on Observation Peak.

Lady bug – Upper Table Rock

Yellow & black beetle – Mule Mountain

Redish brown beetle – Siskiyou Wilderness

Green beetle – Siskiyou Wilderness

Hitchhiker – Mt. Ireland

Blueish green beetle – Catherine Creek Meadows

Small beetle – Catherine Creek Meadows

Green beetle on a geranium – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Green beetle on a wallflower – Silver Star Mountain

Stripped beetle – Spring Valley Greenway

Water skippers – Big Twin Lake

Spider on thimbleberry – Siskiyou Wilderness

Crab spider – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Another crab spider – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Cricket – Pacific Crest Trail

We are often literally struck by grasshoppers as we hike. Sometimes they stick when they hit us such as this one along the PCT.

Bee on phacelia – Mule Mountain

Wet bee on lupine – Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Bumble bee – Hemlock Creek Trail

Lots of pollen – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Bee landing on a marsh marigold along the PCT

Bee approaching penstemon – Siskiyou Wilderness

Bee and a tiny ant in a bindweed – Siskiyou Wilderness

Insects on thistle – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Wasp? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Some sort of wasp – Silver Star Mountain

Insect along Bear Creek – Eagle Cap Wilderness

My brother and I used to call these “weird things”; I have no idea what it actually is – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Damsel fly – Denman Wildlife Area

Damsel fly – Hemlock Lake

Dragon fly – Goat Marsh Lake

Dragon fly – Siskiyou Wilderness

Dragon fly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Dragon fly along the Wallowa River – Wallowa Homeland

Dragon fly – E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Dragon fly – Hemlock Lake

Dragon fly – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Snail – Rock Creek Trail

Snail – Applegate Lake

Snail – North Siouxon Trail

Snail – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Snail – Siskiyou Wilderness

Snail – Cascade Head

Slug – Larch Mountain Trail

Slug (and a fly) – Susan Creek Trail

Slug – Fish Lake

Slug on lupine – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Slug and an unfortunate earth worm – Rock Creek Trail

Worms – Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Millipede – North Siouxon Trail

Millipede – Rock Creek Trail

Millipede – Illahee Rock

Millipede – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Wet caterpillar – Yakona Nature Preserve

Dry version – Larch Mountain Trail

Caterpillar – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Caterpillar – Siskiyou Wilderness

Caterpillar – Larch Mountain Trail

Moth – Klickitat Trail

Moth -Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – Twin Lakes

Moth – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – Wolf Creek Falls Trail

Moth – Cascade Head

Propertius duskywing (Erynnis propertius) – Klickitat Trail

Duskywing – Siskiyou Wilderness

Northern Cloudywing? – Siskiyou Wilderness

Silver-spotted skipper – Siskiyou Wilderness

Skipper – Grizzly Peak

Skipper – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Skipper – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Hairstreak (bramble?) – Siskiyou Mountains

Cedar hairstreak – Siskiyou Wilderness

Hairstreak (possibly thicket) – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Ochre ringlet – Jack Ash Trail

Butterfly – Siskiyou Wilderness

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Butterfly – Upper Table Rock

Butterfly – Mule Mountain

Butterfly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Ireland

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Butterfly – Silver Star Mountain

Butterfly – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Sara’s orangetip – Klickitat Trail

Common woodnymph – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Another woodnymph – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Orange sulphur – Siskiyou Wilderness

Mountain parnassian – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Clodius parnassian – Hemlock Lake

Western white? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Western white – Trinty Alps Wilderness

Pine white – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Butterfly – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Butterfly – Mule Mountain

Butterfly – Silver Star Mountain

Western meadow fritillary? – Silver Star Mountain

A fritillary – Silver Star Mountain

A fritillary – Trinity Alps Wilderness

A fritillary -Russian Wilderness

A fritillary – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Mourning cloak – Klickitat Trail

California tortoiseshell – Siskiyou Wilderness

Milbert’s tortoiseshell – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Lorquin’s admiral – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Common buckeye – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

Hoary comma – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Green comma? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Swallowtails:
Klickitat Trail

Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Eagle Cap Wilderness

Tadpoles – Russian Wilderness

Tadpole transforming – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Frog – Russian Wilderness

Frog – Goat Marsh Lake

Tree frog – Siskiyou Wilderness

Frog – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Toad – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Toad – Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

Fish – Siphon Lake

Rough skinned newt – Yakona Nature Preserve

Western painted turtle – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Baby snake – Miller Woods

Garter snake – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Lizard – Mule Mountain

Lizard – Upper Table Rock

Lizard – Russian Wilderness

Lizard – Siskiyou Wilderness

Lizard – Klickitat Trail

Lizard – Upper Table Rock

Alligator lizard – Mule Mountain

Chipmunk – Observation Peak

Ground squirrel – Russian Wilderness

Ground squirrel – Klickitat Trail

Ground squirrel – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Ground squirrel – Upper Table Rock

Squirrel – Rock Creek Trail

Squirrel – Twin Lakes

Squirrel – Larch Mountain Trail

Marmot – Wallowa Homeland

Jack rabbit – Denman Wildlife Area

Rabbit – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Pika – Silver Star Mountain

Muskrat – Julia Butler Hansen – Wildlife Refuge

Otter – Killin Wetlands

Sea lion – Hart’s Cove

Deer – Memaloose Hills

Doe – Miller Woods

Mamma – Roxy Ann Peak

Fawn – Roxy Ann Peak

Columbian white-tailed buck – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Doe & fawn – Donomore Meadows

Three bucks – Siskiyou Wilderness

Buck – Siskiyou Wilderness

Buck – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Doe & fawn – Russian Wilderness

Buck and does – Russian Wilderness

Two bucks – Crater Lake National Park

Elk – Yakona Nature Preserve

Bull elk – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Mountain goat below the Mt. Ireland Lookout – Mt. Ireland

Domestic goat – Near the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Black bear – Siskiyou Wilderness

The same black bear making eye contact the day before.

Tags Bear, Butterfly, California, Columbian White-tailed deer, deer, eagle cap wilderness, elk, fawn, Julia Butler Hansen Refuge, mountain goat, Oregon, Pika, Russian Wilderness, Siskiyou Wilderness, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Washington, Wildlife

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2021 Wildlife Gallery

One of the most enjoyable experiences while hiking is encountering wildlife. Oddly enough it’s also one of the worst (see ticks, mosquitos, and yellow jackets). From creatures great to small we were blessed to see a wide variety of God’s creations this past year. While there remain a number of critters on our “bucket list” of animals we haven’t encountered yet in 2021 we were able to put a check mark by river otters, American bitterns, and raccoons.
River Otters on a boom at Dorena Lake

American bittern flying over Fern Ridge Wildlife Area

Raccoons at South Slough Estuary

We are working on learning to identify the various birds and butterflies we see and have made our best efforts (guesses), but as with our attempted identification of wildflowers (post) any help and or corrections is appreciated. With that here is a collection of the rest of the wildlife we encountered in 2021 starting with caterpillars, butterflies and moths.

Several species

One of the sulphurs

Another sulphur

Becker’s white

A hairstreak

Also a hairstreak

Cabbage white

California tortoiseshell

A checkerspot

Chlosyne acastus – sagebrush checkerspot, female

Chlosyne acastus – sagebrush checkerspot, male?

Cloudis parnassian

Cedar hairstreak

Green comma?

Hoary comma

Juba skipper – Hesperia juba

Langton’s Forester Moth

Lorquin’s admiral

Milbert’s tortoiseshell

Moth

A moth, possibly Gnophaela latipennis

Moth

Mylitta crescents

Ochre ringlet

Orange tip

Possibly a Boisduval’s blue – Icaricia icarioides

Propertius duskywing – Erynnis propertius

Purplish copper

Possibly another purplish copper, Steens Mountain Wilderness 8/17.

Sheep moth

Silvery blue?

A skipper

Anise swallowtail

Indra swallowtail

Possibly a pale swallowtail -Ninemile Ridge

Possibly a western swallowtail -Devil’s Staircase Wilderness

Viceroy

Wood nymphs
July 19th, Ochoco Mountains

August 17th Steens Mountain Wilderness

August 19th Steens Mountain Wilderness

One of the fritillary butterflies I think.

Flying ants at the summit of Mt. Bachelor

Cicada

Ladybug

Find the beetle

Dictyoptera aurora?

Crab spider

Spot the spider

Praying mantis

June bug

Damsel fly

Dragon fly

Alligator lizard

Ring necked snake

Turtle

Western fence lizards

Dunn’s salamander?

Rough skinned newt

Crawdad surrounded by rough skinned newts

Fish in Black Canyon Creek

Seals

Sea lions

Nutria

Hindquarters of what we believe to have been a mole.

There are several species of chipmunks in the area and I think these are two different species but I’m not sure which ones.
Indian Heaven Wilderness

Badger Creek Wilderness

Likewise there are several different squirrels and ground squirrels.
Golden mantled-ground squirrel

Pikas at first glance might seem to be related to ground squirrels but they are actually closely related to rabbits.
Pika

Mountain cottontail

Eastern cottontail

Snowshoe hare

Jack rabbit

Ring-necked duck and a lesser scaup

American coot, spotted sandpiper and mallards on a log

American wigeons

Green-winged teals

Cinnamon teal

Mallards, a cinnamon teal and a pied billed grebe

Common merganser

A female hooded merganser? and buffleheads

Northern pintails

Northern shovelers

Ducklings

Canada geese

Western grebe

Bird at the Formal Gardens at Shore Acres State Park

At least two types of egrets and a bunch of ducks at Malhuer Wildlife Refuge

Egret

Great blue heron

Black-necked stilt

Dunlins

Yellowlegs?

White faced ibis

Whimbrels

Spotted sandpiper

Another sandpiper

A couple of types of shorebirds

White pelican

Seagull

Cormorants

Kingfisher

American dipper aka ouzel

A couple of American bushtits

Bewick’s wren?

Canyon wren?

Wren? at Horsethief Butte near The Dalles.

No idea, seen along the Alder Springs Trail in Central Oregon.

Possibly a flycatcher?

A flycatcher

Flycatcher?

Another no clue, seen near a creek in the Ochoco Mountains.

Crossbills? (based on the crossed beaks)

Black headed grosebeak

Black phoebe

California scrub jays

Gray jay

Stellar’s jay

Pinyon jay

Clark’s nutcracker

Brewer’s blackbird

Yellow headed blackbird

Red winged blackbird

Starling

Cedar waxwings

Common yellowthroat

Dark eyed junco

Chestnut-backed chickadee

Mountain chickadee

Possibly an orange crowned warbler

Ruby crowned kinglet

A finch

Green-tailed towhee

Spotted towhee

Pipit

Townsend’s solitaire

Robin, western bluebird and swallows

Mountain bluebird

Lazuli bunting

Red breasted nuthatch

Yellow-rumped warbler

Western meadowlark

Western tanager – male

Western tanager – female

Western wood-pewee

Rufous sided hummingbird

Chipping sparrow?

White crowned sparrows

Savannah sparrow

Sparrow

Sparrow?

Lark sparrow

Downy woodpecker?

Lewis’s woodpecker

Northern flicker

Red breasted sapsucker

A woodpecker

Killdeer

Mourning dove

Grouse, leaning toward sooty

Not sure which type of grouse this is.

Ruffed grouse?

Sage grouse

California quail

Turkeys

Rooster at Cape Arago State Park

Crow

Turkey vulture

A magpie and some sort of hawk

A hawk

Hawk in flight

Cooper’s hawk?

Hawk in the Pueblo Mountains

Red-tailed hawk

Hawk or?

Northern harrier

Osprey (with meal)

Bald eagle

Great horned owl

American kestral

Common nightwawk

Northern shrike

Coyote

Wild horses at Steens Mountain

Not wild cows along the Little Malhuer Trail

Columbian black-tailed deer

Columbian white-tailed deer

Mule deer fawn

Elk in the Aldrich Mountains

Mountain goat

At the top of our list of animals we haven’t seen is a cougar (at a distance please), beaver, and porcupine along with a number of others. Good luck out there in 2022 and Happy Trails!

Tags butterflies, Oregon butterfiles, oregon hiking, Oregon wildlife, Wildlife

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2019 Wildlife Gallery

We had so much fun in 2018 putting together posts of the different species and varieties of wildlife and wildflowers we’d seen that year that we decided to do it again for 2019. While we didn’t see a lot of larger animals this year we did see a lot of pikas, frogs and toads, and a number of new birds.

In the spirit of Leave No Trace principles we do our best not to cause any distress to the wildlife we see by keeping our distance, not feeding them, and doing our best not to disturb or startle them in any way.

Starting out small-
Beetle on a blue dicks

Ladybug on a thimbleberry leaf

Beetle

Beetle in a rose

Green beetle

Dragon fly

Bug shenanigans

Bee on showy phlox

Bumblebee on thistle

Wasp

Catapiller

Caterpillar

Wooly bear caterpillar

Millipede

Snail and a millipede

Slugs on skunk cabbage

Slug

Wolf spider

Crab spider

Spider on bluedicks

Spider fight

We didn’t see as many different moths and butterflies this year but we saw quite a few of several types.
Moth on the Boulder Lake Trail

Moth on rainiera

Blue copper

Blue copper on aster

Some sort of copper butterfly

Ruddy copper

Skipper

A skipper of some sort or a duskywing

Skipper

Buttefly on the Hertiage Trail

Butterfly on aster

Butterfly on the Tarbell Trail

Butterfly

Fritillary butterfly

Butterfly along the Wenaha River Trail

Butterfly on valerian

Butterfly

Butterfly on stonecrop

Butterflies on aster

Butterfly

Butterfly on a flower

It was a good year for reptiles and amphibians, especially frogs and toads.
Cascade toad

Toad

Western toad at Temple Lake

Frog

Frog on moss

Tree frog

Tadpole

Rough skinned newt on Amanda's Trail

Northern alligator lizard

Western fence lizard

Sagebrush lizard

Pygmy short horned lizard

Snake with an attitude

Water held a couple of creatures.
Crawdad

Fish in the Clackamas River

We had good luck with birds this year as well, being the one animal where we saw quite a few varieties for the first time (that we know of).
American goldfinch

Bald Eagle

Bird along the Boulder Lake Trail

Black-headed grosbeak

Bullock's Oriole

Canada geese

Clark's nutcracker

Duck on Monon Lake

Duck on Russ Lake

Ducks

Egret and great blue heron

Golden eagle being chased by a smaller raptor

Gray jay

Grouse

Hummingbird

Hummingbird on a mountain ash

Junco

Killdeer

Kingbird

Lazuli bunting

Lewis's woodpecker

Little bird along Trail 5

Mergansers

Merlin

Mountain chickadee

Northern flicker

Nuthatch

Osprey with Mt. Adams in the background

Ouzel at Sawmill Falls

Pied-billed grebe

Pileated woodpecker

Raven

Red breasted nuthatch

Red tailed hawk

Red-breasted sapsucker

Red-winged blackbird

Robin

Sparrow

Stellar's jay

Scrub jay

Swallow and a sparrow

Turkey

Turkey vulture

Varied thrush

White crowned sparrow

White pelicans

Wilson's snipe

Wood Ducks

Woodpecker

Wren

Yelllow rumped warbler

Yellow breasted chat

Yellow warbler

Yellow-throated warbler

Spotted towhee

Black-throated warbler

Small furry creatures included a number of our personal favorites the pika.
Pika

Chipmunk

GOlden-mantled ground squirrel

Ground squirrel

Belding's ground squirrel

Marmot

Squirrel

Rabbit

Finally the larger mamals which included the wildlife highlight of the year, watching a group of big horn sheep roughhousing on the far side of the Wenaha River canyon.

The deer near Wallowa Lake got into the roughhousing as well.
Deer in front of the Edelweiss Inn

Didn’t see many elk but these were at Zumwalt Prairie.
Elk

We spotted two coyotes in the brush at the Umatilla Wildlife Refuge. One’s head can be seen here as it was running off.
Coyote in the grass

There are still a handful of animals (that we are aware of) that we haven’t seen yet but continue to keep an eye out for. At the top of that list are cougar, bobcat, beaver, otter (Apparently there was one swimming in Crabtree Lake (post) while we were there this year but we didn’t notice it.) porcupine, wolf, and wolverine. The odds of seeing any of these are not in our favor, but they are out there and have probably seen us. Keeping an out for these and all the other animals we’ve seen or have yet to see is an additional motivation to get out and explore. Happy Trails (and tails)!

Tags Big Horn Sheep, deer, Frog, hiking, Oregon, Pika, Wildlife