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California myotis is an acrobatic flyer. It is dark brown to blond with dark ears, and feeds on moths and flies. Early in the summer, a female joins a maternity or nursery colony where she gives birth to one offspring. In winter, these bats roost in mines, caves and buildings. The California myotis is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species found throughout the state except for the Columbia Basin. Photo by ©Michael Durham
![844_california_myotis_bat_durham.jpg California myotis bat](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/844_california_myotis_bat_durham_cx_0.jpg?itok=v7bxTDdq)
Flesh-footed shearwaters are always exciting birds to find, as they are one of the rarest of the seabirds to occur annually in Oregon. Single birds are sometimes found in flocks of other shearwaters. They are very similar to sooty shearwaters but they are larger with pink or pale whitish feet and dark-tipped pale bills. In addition, their plumage is a deep chocolate-brown, lacking the grayness of the upperpart coloration of sooty shearwaters; and the underwing does not show the sooty's white coverts. It is a rare late fall transient offshore at the western edge and slopes of the continental shelf
![flesh-footed_shearwater_ed_dunens_flickr.jpg Flesh-footed shearwater](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/flesh-footed_shearwater_ed_dunens_flickr.jpg?itok=Kc7MZgX_)
The Eurasian collared-dove is quite similar to the Ringed turtle-dove but is somewhat larger with grayer underparts and darker primaries. It is a bird of agricultural areas and readily visits bird feeding stations in urban and rural neighborhoods. During the 1600s this Indian species began to expand its range until today it occurs in all of Europe and most of Asia. After introductions in the Bahamas in 1974 and Guadeloupe in 1976 it soon expanded throughout the Caribbean and reached Florida by 1980. It is now expanding into other parts of North America, reaching Oregon in 1988. It is expected
![eurasion_dove_ganskopp.jpg Eurasion dove](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/eurasion_dove_ganskopp_cx.jpg?itok=SkrOhyE8)
With its long, forked tail and long wings, it is the most graceful of all land birds and reminds one of the smaller terns not only in shape but in behavior. The Barn swallow has taken so completely to nesting on human-made structures that one forgets they were once restricted to caves and rock crevices. Almost every farm in the state has a pair or two nesting in an outbuilding, and very few bridges do not have a pair or two. It is the best known of the swallows. It is a fairly common to locally abundant summer resident and
![barn_swallow_2.jpg Barn swallow](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/barn_swallow_2_cx.jpg?itok=luDRkoHn)
These small, buff ground-dwellers are often seen in migration as they pass overhead in lisping flocks or as they walk deliberately along a muddy shore, tilled field, or short-grass upland with their tails slowly bobbing. Breeding birds are grayish above and lightly streaked below; winter birds are more heavily streaked below and brownish above. All plumages have cream-buff undersides (brightness varies) and a dark tail with white outer feathers. The American pipit is locally common in lowlands in winter, especially in western Oregon and on the coast. Hundreds of pipits can be found some years in preferred habitat in the
![american_pipit_mick_thompson_flickr.jpg American pipit](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/american_pipit_mick_thompson_flickr.jpg?itok=mqBO2api)
This medium-sized, shy grebe has bright white cheeks that contrast sharply against a dark crown and rust red neck during the breeding season. An aquatic bird, it breeds in lakes and ponds, usually in forested areas. In Oregon, it is found in waters with hardstem bulrush intermixed with open water over five feet deep. Five to 20 birds at Rocky Point in the Upper Klamath Lake National Wildlife Reserve form the only consistent breeding population in Oregon. The red-necked grebe reaches its greatest numbers during winter along the coast. The red-necked grebe is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the
![Red-necked-Grebe-with-Young-USFWS-Donna-Dewhurst.jpg Red-necked grebe](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/Red-necked%20Grebe%20with%20Young%20USFWS%20Donna%20Dewhurst.jpg?itok=B5rIT21G)
The noisy and frenetic Ruddy turnstone is a stocky, plover-like bird who's breeding plumage is a clown like pattern of black, rust and white. Ruddy turnstones have been found foraging in the company of many other shorebird species. Found on rocky shores, jetties, open ocean beaches, mud flats, salicornia marshes, grass flats and flooded fields, the Ruddy turnstone is an opportunistic feeder. It is an uncommon to common spring and fall transient along the coast; a few birds remain to winter there each year. The largest flocks are seen during spring and fall migration at Bandon. They are an irregular
![ruddy_turnstone_2_budeau.jpg Ruddy turnstone](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/ruddy_turnstone_2_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=y2FxPq1v)
Skuas are the size of a Western gull, dark with a pale nape and large white patches on the bases of the primaries on both the upper and lower surfaces. This is a solitary bird. Its flight is low and direct with heavy flapping and little gliding. It steals food from other seabirds, and is aggressive, bordering on predatory. It may grab a shearwater's head, wing, or tail and shake and kick the bird until it regurgitates its food. Chances of detection are best around flocks of shearwaters feeding behind fishing boats. It is a rare to uncommon fall transient
![south_polar_skua_tony_morris_flickr.jpg South polar skua](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/south_polar_skua_tony_morris_flickr.jpg?itok=pQM6CTpF)
The down-slurred pee-eer call of this flycatcher is one of Oregon's most characteristic summertime bird sounds. Wherever there is a canopy of mature deciduous trees, one is likely to hear the call during warm afternoons when most other birds are silent. Because the call can easily be heard, it can usually be found perched near the tip of a dead branch from which it frequently flies a short distance to capture a flying insect, or to chase an intruder from its territory. The Western wood-pewee is a common migrant and fairly common breeder statewide in open groves of trees or
![0505_western_wood_pewee_budeau.jpg Western wood pewee](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/0505_western_wood_pewee_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=a_hdjWEf)
A colorful harbinger of spring, the hardy Tree swallow arrives from the south during February each year. It is a highly social species that is usually observed in large flocks often with Violet-green and other swallow species. It is not colonial but several pairs may nest together if available cavities are clustered. The Tree swallow is a bird of open places near water and is seldom seen in residential neighborhoods or built-up urban areas. It is the only swallow that eats berries and small seeds as well as insects. In Oregon, it is a locally abundant summer resident and breeding
![tree_swallow_ganskopp.jpg Tree swallow](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/tree_swallow_ganskopp.jpg?itok=J_jj4l17)
The song of this wren is often mistaken for the Song sparrow in the thickets and open woodlands where it resides. When in view, however, its long tail, thin bill, and white line above its eye are distinctive. Found in a variety of habitats, it readily takes advantage of cleared forest grown to large shrubs, especially blackberries. It is a permanent resident west of the Cascades, in Klamath and Warner basins, and along the upper Columbia River and tributaries. Hear the song of the Bewick's wren Photo by David Hoffman, Flickr
![bewicks_wren_david_hoffman_flickr.jpg Bewick's wren](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/bewicks_wren_david_hoffman_flickr.jpg?itok=k2tsSyH4)
A boldly colored medium-sized bird, the Bullock's oriole builds its characteristic hanging nest in broadleafed trees and tall shrubs, especially when the trees or shrubs are spaced widely and situated along the edges of streams and fields. In Oregon, the Bullock's oriole is a rare to fairly common breeder, especially along major rivers and around farmsteads. It is most widespread in southwest and northeast Oregon. In particular, on the Derby Road in Jackson County. It nests primarily in open spaced cottonwoods, maples, and other tall, forking broadleaf trees. The nest is constructed of plant fibers, hairs, fine grass, and moss
![bullocks_oriel_female_ganskopp.jpg Bullock's oriole male](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/7380_male_bullocks_oriole_munsel_cx.jpg?itok=U97TUnzO)
One of the most numerous breeding birds in Douglas-fir and true fir forests of western Oregon is the Hermit warbler, yet it is often overlooked. This may be surprising, given the male's bold colors; however, it seldom descends from the higher reaches of the forest canopy. If you are familiar with its song, you can often hear three to five males singing on a spring morning from many places in appropriate habitat. The male Hermit warbler has a bright yellow head, set off by a black throat and nape. The gray back is marked with black stripes that vary in
![hermit_warbler_john_breitsh_flickr.jpg Hermit warbler](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/hermit_warbler_john_breitsh_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=Ggd-A7dW)
Skulking through wetlands, the American bittern is rarely seen - it has an extremely slow and stealthy walk, and when a threat approaches it freezes and mimics marshland plants with upright posture and beak pointed skyward. These behaviors combined with its cryptic plumage effectively camouflage the bird. However, it is occasionally seen in flight, and its low, gurgling song can be heard over long distances. An uncommon to fairly common breeder east of the Cascades and a rare migrant in Malheur county it has also been noted at mountain lakes east of the Cascades in Lake County. In western Oregon
![American bittern](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/american_bittern_ganskopp_0.jpg?itok=xDCC6kkU)
At first look, the Willet is a rather drab and nondescript medium-sized shorebird found in wetland habitats and nearby uplands. However, further observation reveals subtle patterning in its relatively uniform grayish plumage and birds in flight expose a distinct, bold white wing bar that contrasts with a black border. Sexes are similar in appearance at all times of the year. Willet are present on breeding grounds in Oregon for a short period of time during spring and summer, but displaying birds are conspicuous and emit a loud and persistent "pill-will-willet" call. These vigilant and vocal individuals often hover overhead and
![willet_budeau.jpg Willet](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/willet_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=BZJ99DS8)
Rhinoceros auklet are one of the rarer breeding alcids in Oregon. Adults are easily recognized during the breeding season by the vertical "horn" at the base of the upper mandible. Birds in breeding plumage have brownish gray backs, a gray-brown chest, and a dirty white belly. Two distinct plumes are present on the head, one above and one below the eye. The bill is orange. In non-breeding plumage the horn is greatly reduced, the plumes absent or reduced, and the bill duller. It nests in small numbers in Oregon with Goat and Hunter Islands having the largest concentrations of breeding
![rhinoceros_auklet_eric_ellingson_flickr.jpg Rhinoceros auklet](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/rhinoceros_auklet_eric_ellingson_flickr.jpg?itok=tmGCOFe6)
The Juniper titmouse presents the demeanor of a miniature jay with its crest jutted proudly upright. It is a pale gray bird above and underneath, with little or no brown coloration. Songs and calls are useful in locating hidden titmice. The Juniper titmouse occurs in pinyon pine-juniper woodlands in the bulk of its range. This bird is a cavity nester. The nest is often placed in a crevice of a twisted trunk of large, older junipers. It primarily forages in junipers and juniper seed are important in the winter diet. An Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Northern Basin and
![Juniper-titmouse_Seabamirum_flickr.jpg Juniper titmouse](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/Juniper%20titmouse_Seabamirum_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=95A0xTsM)
Brown creepers are the only North American birds that rely on both the trunk and bark of trees for both nesting and foraging. They are small birds, about five inches in length, and have a long, slender, down-curved bill used to probe for insects hidden in the furrows of tree bark. Their brown back, streaked with white, makes creepers on of the best-camouflaged girds of the forest. They most often forage upward from the base of a tree, using their long, stiff tail for support. The Brown creeper breeds and winters throughout forested areas of Oregon, from the coast to
![Brown_Creeper_Kohl.jpg Brown creeper](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/Brown_Creeper_Kohl_cx.jpg?itok=oMugv7G3)
![Alton Baker Family FIshing Thumbnail](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2017-09/Alton%20Baker%201.jpg?itok=9X3Z78M1)
The Hammond's flycatcher spends much of its time in tall conifer canopies, where its subdued plumage and quiet, monotonous chant let it be easily overlooked. A diligent observer may be able to locate this aerial insectivore on a dead limb just beneath the live crowns of mature conifers from which it sallies into a canopy gap to capture insect prey on the wing. It is a common summer resident of montane coniferous forests through the state, on both sides of the Cascades. Hear the song of the Hammond's flycatcher Photo by Keith Williams, Flickr
![hammonds_flycatcher_keith_williams_flickr.jpg Hammond's flycatcher](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/hammonds_flycatcher_keith_williams_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=tQTWkYyx)