It had been more than a year since my last visit to Oaks Bottom Wetlands. (I blogged about June 2022 and included some photos in a review of Fall 2021.) I waited for the early morning fog to lift, and got in a couple good hours of relatively warm and dry conditions — that is, not freezing and not raining.
As always, there was an impressive variety of wildlife along the trail. I saw a stand of more than 20 Great Blue Herons in the wetlands, more than I had ever seen in one place before. Some online research pointed out a heron rookery on Ross Island, which is just offshore from Oaks Bottom in the Willamette. Other highlights included Kingfishers and Cedar Waxwings, and an eagle pair calling out across the wetlands from a tall tree.
Flicker, at the entry to Oaks Bottom
Brown Creeper
One of many noisy crows at Oaks Bottom. The starlings and robins had a lot to say, too.
Gadwall
Gadwall pair, bottoms up at Oaks Bottom
Gadwall
A stand of herons — probably two dozen total.
Close-up of part of the stand of herons.
Cormorant
Yellow-rumped warbler, cedar waxwing, and kingfisher, busy in the same tree.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
A Yellow-Rumped Warbler looking up.
Kingfisher
I heard these eagles call most of my hike, but didn’t see them until I got to the far side and looked back. Another hiker said she saw a pair with a juvenile here last week, and thought that these might be calling for the missing juvenile.
Leaving the wetland, this Red-tail Hawk was working the meadow.
This hummingbird kept an eye on the meadow from its high perch.
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