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The Pacific white-sided dolphin is most abundant in the Southern California Bight in winter, but move further north, off Oregon and Washington in summer. These animals can be found from the tip of Baja to the Aleutians and the western Pacific from the Kuril Islands to Japan. They prefer deep, off-shore waters, so sightings are usually limited to recreational and commercial fishers. The Pacific white-sided dolphin is about seven or eight feet long. It has three colors: the chin, throat and belly are creamy white; the beak, flippers, back, and dorsal fin are a dark gray, and there are light
![pacific_whitesided_dolphin_Frans_schouwenburg_flickr.jpg Pacific white-sided dolphin](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-06/pacific_whitesided_dolphin_Frans_schouwenburg_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=dUOZzLNA)
The Southern alligator lizard is found in a variety of habitats from grassland and chaparral to oak woodlands and edges of open coniferous forests, as well as riparian zones and moist canyon bottoms. It requires thickets, brush heaps, downed logs, or rock piles for cover. This carnivorous lizard feeds primarily on small invertebrates (slugs, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets), but also is known to feed on bird eggs, nestlings, other lizards, and small mammals. Photo by Alan Harper, Creative Commons
![southern_alligator_lizard_alan_harper_ccreative_commons.jpg Thumbnail](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2018-11/southern_aligator_lizard_alan_harper_ccreative_commons.jpg?itok=1JCHdM0S)
This salt-loving bird is possibly the most abundant grebe in the world. These grebes nest in the large, tule-fringed marshes of southeastern Oregon. They also use almost any open water for feeding after the breeding season. The eared grebe has been reported breeding in nearly every eastern Oregon county, but principal breeding areas are in Klamath, Lake, and Harney counties. It is local elsewhere east of the Cascades. Hear the call of the eared grebe Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
![0193_eared_grebe_adult_breeding_budeau.jpg Eared grebe](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/0193_eared_grebe_adult_breeding_budeau.jpg?itok=qfogiV6v)
These elegant shorebirds are found as often in dry or damp upland areas as they are on mudflats or beaches. The plain brown immature birds of autumn become spangled with black and gold as breeding approaches. It is an occasional to uncommon migrant in western Oregon (mainly coastal) and locally rare, irregular migrant in eastern Oregon, with most reports at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, in the Klamath Basin (summer) and in Umatilla County. Hear the call of the American golden-plover Photo by Mark Peck, Flickr
![american_golden-plover_mark_peck_flickr.jpg American golden plover](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/american_golden-plover_mark_peck_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=9y7-segY)
This small, remarkably delicate long-legged wader can be found in migration across most of Oregon. It is speckled gray and white with some variation by season and is typically noticed mincing about in shallow pools and in the water adjacent to mudflats or on seasonally flooded fields, as well as in small isolated ponds. It is an uncommon to common migrant, most birds in fall. In the eastern one-third of Oregon, it usually outnumbers Greater yellowlegs in fall. Hear the call of the Lesser yellowlegs Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
![lesser_yellowlegs_budeau.jpg Lesser yellowlegs](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/lesser_yellowlegs_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=PL4w76xA)
Parasitic jaegers are strong, fast fliers with a flash of white on the bases of the underwing primaries. This is the most frequently seen jaeger from shore and it sometimes enters estuaries. They are an uncommon fall and rare spring transient offshore. Their flight is low and unlabored with falcon-like wing-beats that alternate with shearwater-like glides. These birds chase terns and small gulls for up to several minutes until they disgorge food. Hear the call of the Parasitic jaeger Photo by Aaron Maizlish, Flickr
![parasitic_jaeger_aaron_maizlish_flickr.jpg Parasitic jaeger](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/parasitic_jaeger_aaron_maizlish_flickr.jpg?itok=yuwUXGDy)
Southern Oregon is the northwest limit of the breeding range of Blue-gray gnatcatcher, which, as its name implies, is an active, diminutive bluish-gray. This is an energetic bird, commonly jerking its tail sharply to one side, wings held below, occasionally spreading its tail. It breeds in numerous disjunct localities and may be expanding its range in Oregon. It is an uncommon to common summer resident in the interior Rogue Valley. Hear the song of the Blue-gray gnatcatcher Photo by John Sutton, Flickr
![blue-gray_gnatcatcher_john_sutton_flickr.jpg Blue-gray gnatcatcher](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/blue-gray_gnatcatcher_john_sutton_flickr.jpg?itok=ZrEkG9my)
This colorful bird of coniferous forests and mixed woods is a common breeding species of eastern North America. It winters in the West Indies and Middle America and occasionally in California and the southern United States. It is a regular migrant in very small numbers in spring and irregular in summer and fall in the southwestern United States to California and Oregon and is occasionally found elsewhere in the West. The majority of Oregon records are from late April to late June, mostly from the east of the Cascades. Hear the song of the Northern parula Photo by Jeff Bryant
![northern_parula_jeff_bryant_flickr.jpg Northern parula](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/northern_parula_jeff_bryant_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=aMCv-JLK)
Although they occur in a wide variety of habitat types, from deserts and chaparral to open forests across Oregon, Western rattlesnakes usually occur near rocks, cliffs, or downed logs. They overwinter in dens typically located on south-facing rocky hillsides exposed to sunshine. Western rattlesnakes feed mainly on small mammals, including mice, gophers, squirrels and rabbits, but will also take birds lizards, and amphibians. The Western rattlesnake is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Willamette Valley. Photo by Simon Wray, ODFW
![Western Rattle Snake](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-06/western_rattle_snake_simon_wray_odfw.jpg?itok=m_CUQoYi)
Noted for its familiar call, chick-a-dee-dee-dee, the Black-capped chickadee is widely heralded as one of Oregon's friendliest and cheeriest residents. Even in the midst of winter, this bird "fairly overflows with good spirits." The Black-capped chickadee is resident at low to moderate elevations in western Oregon from the Willamette Valley and coastal counties to Douglas County and in most of eastern Oregon with the exception of the southeastern corner of the state. Hear the song of the Black-capped chickadee Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
![017_black_capped_chickadee_budeau.jpg Black-capped chickadee](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/017_black_capped_chickadee_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=PLvf8pma)
Features: While in the ocean, Chinook salmon often have a purple hue to their backs with silvery sides and bellies, large oblong black spots on the back, and round black spots on both lobes of the tail (note that tail spotting may be obscured in ocean fish by “silver” in the tail). Upon returning to freshwater to spawn, Chinook darken in color and develop red on their bellies and fins. A key identifier is the black gum line on the lower jaw with dark colors both inside and outside of the gum line. Spawning generally occurs from August to early
![1298_rufus_spring_chinook_mcdonald_odfw_0.jpg Thumbnail](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/1298_rufus_spring_chinook_mcdonald_odfw_0.jpg?itok=j5kDCQCA)
Need to figure out controlled hunts, find a place to clam, learn how to fish or get directions to a wildlife area? We've got information on all that and more, straight from ODFW biologists and other accomplished hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers. Header image by Dave Budeau
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The text for this turkey hunting course was originally written by Scott Haugen and edited by Jessica Sall. Videos were produced by Scott Haugen. Special thanks to the National Wild Turkey Federation for sharing many of the photos used in this course. Additional photos were from Scott Haugen and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
![image of two tom turkeys talking trash](/sites/default/files/styles/380x228/public/2020-09/Sounds-turkeys-make-NWTF.jpg?itok=YBB5JryG)
The California towhee can be found in chaparral habitats of southern Oregon, quietly flitting in and out of the brush in search of seeds. It is a plain brown bird with a rusty throat patch and undertail coverts. It is noticeably larger than the Spotted towhee. Its long slender tail is also a useful identifying feature. Sexes cannot be told apart in the field, but juveniles can be distinguished by the extensive streaking and spotting of the underparts. The California towhee is a fairly common permanent resident throughout the Rogue, Applegate, and Illinois Valleys. Hear the song of the California
![california_towhee_david_barton_flickr.jpg California towhee](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/california_towhee_david_barton_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=LhhB-zt0)
The buzzy, insect-like song of the Savannah sparrow is a characteristic sound of open landscapes dominated by grasslands throughout Oregon. Savannah sparrows are usually heard or seen when perched atop a fence post, small shrub, or tall weed, or running on the ground between openings in vegetation until the bird abruptly drops down into cover. The Savannah sparrow nests on the ground, often in a slight depression and well concealed by a canopy of dead vegetation or partially tucked under a clump of vegetation. Hear the song of the Savannah sparrow Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
![savannah_sparrow_budeau.jpg Savannah sparrow](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/savannah_sparrow_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=PqXNb4VB)
The Swamp sparrow uses wet areas that have thick vegetation for cover. Several glimpses of this reclusive bird may be required before it can safely be separated from Lincoln's sparrow or the more common Song sparrow, though its distinctive call will give it away to observers familiar with it. Chestnut coloration on the wing coverts helps separate this species from other wintering sparrows. The Swamp swallow is a rare to uncommon spring and fall transient and winter visitant in western Oregon, especially along the coast. Hear the song of the Swamp sparrow Photo from USFWS
![swamp_sparrow_usfws.jpg Swamp sparrow](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/swamp_sparrow_usfws_cx.jpg?itok=1hgOcASj)
This species breeds from northeast British Columbia to Nova Scotia and south to north Georgia. It winters in Middle and South America. Small numbers regularly occur along the west coast, especially in spring. The majority of Oregon records have occurred from early March through July, mostly from mid-May to mid-June. Individuals are occasionally found from mid-September to mid-January, mostly birds that remained less than five days. Here the song of the Rose-breasted grosbeak Photo by Anna Hesser, Flickr
![rose-breasted_anna_hesser_flickr.jpg Rose-breasted grosbeak](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/rose-breasted_anna_hesser_flickr.jpg?itok=4NRhpSo2)
This is a bird of riparian thickets, farmlands, and towns. Since 1980, it has been observed almost annually in Harney County, usually in numbers less than five. A pair successfully fledged young near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in 1994. Most Harney County records occur from early April to late October. Away from Harney county individuals have also been seen in the various eastern and southeastern counties of Oregon. Hear the song of the Great-tailed grackle Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW
![4455_great_tailed_grackle_munsel_odfw.jpg Great tailed grackle](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/4455_great_tailed_grackle_munsel_odfw.jpg?itok=eljsTV9F)
This snake is found in meadows and at the edges of clearings in forests. It prefers areas with dense vegetation but, when basking, can be found in open areas or on talus slopes. It occurs in wooded areas on the floor of the Willamette Valley and has been found in the Rogue Valley. This garter snake is commonly found in suburban areas and city parks. The Northwestern garter snake feeds mainly on slugs and earthworms, but also takes insects, small salamanders, frogs, fish, small mammals, and possibly nestlings of ground nesting birds. Photo by J. Maughn, Flickr
![northwestern_gater_snake_j_maughn_flickr.jpg Northwestern garter snake](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-06/northwestern_gater_snake_j_maughn_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=T0JO1QN0)
Much variability in coloration exists in the common garter snake but the best identifying characteristic is a stripe down the middle of the snake's back. While the common garter snake frequents wet meadows and forest edges, it occurs in a variety of habitats far from water, including open valleys and moist coniferous forest. Smaller snakes eat earthworms, but adults feed on a variety of vertebrate prey, including frogs, toads, salamanders, birds, fish, reptiles, and small mammals. Invertebrates, including slugs and leeches, are also eaten. Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
![072_garter_snake_budeau.jpg Thumbnail](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2018-11/072_garter_snake_budeau.jpg?itok=2qowfbLb)