Did you know that the Western Meadowlark is the Oregon bird! School children in Oregon actually voted to make the Western Meadowlark the state bird back in 1927. How cool is that!
We thought it would be fun to divide up the best birds in Oregon by birding hotspots and the most popular destinations in the state.
Oregon birding hotspots are spread across the state and along the Pacific coast.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
To name just a few of Malheur's nesting birds:
1.Greater Sage-Grouse
2. White-faced Ibis
3. Virginia Rail
4. Sora
5. Black-necked Stilt
Fern Ridge Wildlife Management Area
More than 250 species have been recorded in this area alone, including:
1. Nesting Western Grebe
2. Clark's Grebe
3. American Bittern
4. Black Tern
5. Acorn Woodpecker
Summer Lake Wildlife Area
1. Osprey
2. Lewis's Woodpecker
3. Sage Thrasher
4. Brewer's Sparrow
5. Yellow-headed Blackbird
Fort Stevens State Park (our fave spot on the coast!)
Birds that can be seen for much of the year include:
1. Surf Scoter
2. White-winged Scoter
3. Red-throated Loon
4. Pacific Loon
5. Common Loon
William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge
More than 20 species of waterfowl winter at the refuge, including:
1. Greater White-fronted Goose
2. Cackling Goose
3. Trumpeter Swan
4. Tundra Swan
5. Osprey
Sauvie Island
According to the Audubon, this region sits at the intersection of the Columbia River and the Willamette River.
"The two most noted birds of Sauvie Island are Bald Eagle, which both nests and winters in very large numbers (January through March is the peak time), and Sandhill Crane, abundant from spring through fall. Where there are mudflats or shallow water in August and September, shorebirds can be very common. This is also a good area for raptors."
1. Osprey
2. Northern Harrier
3. Red-shouldered Hawk
4. Rough-legged Hawk
5. Merlin, Peregrine Falcon
Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint
Summer and fall bring:
1. Sooty Shearwater
2. Brown Pelican
3. Tufted Puffin
4. Heermann's Gull
5. Caspian Tern
Tillamook Bay
In the north, a park in Barview connects to a jetty that can be good for shorebirds:
1. Black Oystercatcher
2. Wandering Tattler
3. Black Turnstone
4. Surfbird
5. Rock Sandpiper
Crater Lake National Park
There's a very long list of notable birds here:
1. Sooty Grouse
2. Vaux's Swift
3. Williamson's Sapsucker
4. Red-breasted Sapsucker
5. Black-backed Woodpecker
Indian Ford Campground
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_7sCpEgOEi/
1. Sooty Grouse
2. Northern Pygmy-Owl
3. Northern Saw-whet Owl
4. Calliope Hummingbird
5. Williamson's Sapsucker
Bird species like the 50 listed here are jaw-dropping and if you can get up close and do some bird watching we highly recommend it.
There are other birds of Oregon we didn't include like the red-tailed hawk, horned owl, oriole, western bluebird, American robin, American goldfinches, Grosbeak, Northern Flicker, California scrub-jay, Warbler, Song sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Chickadee, Thrush, and Sagebrush.
If you live in Portland, many of these areas in the state are a short drive. The Oregon coast has many bird species if you're headed in that direction! We hang out bird feeders in our yard to see what wild birds will pay us a visit. Do you?
Have you ever seen or heard of these wild birds? Please leave us a comment below!
WATCH NOW: Budgerigars Are Little Birds!
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