Birding the Spit at Hood River Marina

We chose the Spit at Hood River’s Marina for today’s monthly Columbia River Gorge Bird Walk.  After a fabulous breakfast with riverfront seating at Riverside, we headed over to the beach.

We couldn’t help stopping for a Great Blue Heron basking in the sun as he stood in the river.  I barely caught him before he flew away.

Our intent was ‘Peeps’ or Shorebirds and we found a Least Sandpiper scurrying over the rocks.  We also saw a Spotted Sandpiper and a pair of Killdeer.

We watched a juvenile Least Sandpiper.

As the others moved onward, I stayed back to grab one last shot of the juvenile because he was just too cute.

It was a ‘Gorge~ous’ summer day with Purple Loosestrife complementing yellow Coreopsis blooming amidst rocks and sand.

Alas we saw no more ‘Peeps’ but heard many little birds tucked away in the shrubs.  Two are shown here, can you find and identify them?

A group of Cormorants flew west along the Columbia River…

I think the smaller the bird, the faster they are…see him?  NO.  He flew away before I could even focus!!

A Scrub Jay posed for a minute and let me photograph him…..

…and Osprey were plentiful.  Large, slow enough for me to catch and a beautiful blue sky background!

It was maddening to have these beautiful Yellow Warblers land for less than a second then take off before I could document them.

Until this little guy towards the end of our stay.  They blend with habitat so well that unless I see them move, they’re difficult to find.

We looked up just as a Western Kingbird flew over the Columbia River.  We speculated migration could be taking place a bit early this year.

We watched a pair of Western Wood Pewees flit from perch to perch, across the beach and throughout the thickets all morning.  I am grateful one finally landed on a branch were I could get a good view!

Most people go to the Hood River marina for water sports but it’s also a great place for birding.  While there we also saw a Green-winged Teal fly overhead. Moving too fast for me to photograph or inside dense thickets were a Willow Flycatcher, Bewick’s Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Savannah Sparrow (shown in the picture above where I asked you to guess!) and a Brewer’s Blackbird.  Black-crested Night Herons typically overwinter here and I look forward to their return each year ~ it should be soon.

Pika Love at Horsetail Falls

Have I mentioned I love the American Pika?  Today I hiked around the Horsetail Falls area in the Columbia River Gorge, hoping to see these cute little critters.

I overslept a bit so didn’t expect to see any since I arrived later than planned.  But LOOK, he popped his little head up as if to say “Here I am!”.

I ended up seeing two and hearing at least 2 others in the distance.

A couple of families stopped to ask what I was capturing with my camera and I think I convinced one kid playing Pokemon Go to seek out Pika instead of Poke!!

As long as I was above Horsetail Falls I decided to hike in to Ponytail Falls.

It was by now lunch time and a bit crowded, so I creatively eliminated people from my viewfinder.

From inside the cave….

Heading back down the trail…

Another beautiful day in the Columbia River Gorge…

I watched for more Pika all the way back down, but I think they were in Siesta Mode.

I DID see a Robin!

Back at the bottom of the trail and surprised at how few people were gathered around Horsetail Falls, I grabbed a shot of it while there.  I look forward to comparing it to the shot I took in January when the falls were raging and ice formed along the rocks.

At the very bottom of the falls, the water level was low enough I could climb down the rocks and take a shot at creek level.

Here’s my little Pika friend again for your enjoyment.  Did I already say I love these little critters?!

Aurora Borealis

Did you see it?  Aurora Borealis tonight!!