New Year, new year bird list.
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New Year, new year bird list. As I've often said, I'm a better watcher than lister, but I'd still like to see more birds this year than last. A rainy, cold Jan 1 was never going to be the fastest start ever. But between a long look out the window and a quick walk along the river, I'm very happy with it. Highlight of the day was seeing two of our white-headed winter ducks side by side for easy comparison.
1) Anna's Hummingbird
2) Steller's Jay
3) California Scrub-Jay
4) Black-capped Chickadee
5) Red-breasted Nuthatch
6) Dark-eyed Junco
7) Yellow-rumped Warbler
Mallard
9) Bufflehead
10) Hooded Merganser
11) Double-crested CormorantNice wet morning walk at Jackson-Frazier Wetland, always a great place for raptors. Today was no exception. The red-shouldered and the harrier were both close and in perfect light. Sometimes it feels like the birds are blessing you.
12) Northern Harrier
13) Red-shouldered Hawk
14) Northern Flicker
15) Bushtit
16) Bewick's Wren
17) American Robin
18) Song Sparrow
19) Spotted Towhee -
Nice wet morning walk at Jackson-Frazier Wetland, always a great place for raptors. Today was no exception. The red-shouldered and the harrier were both close and in perfect light. Sometimes it feels like the birds are blessing you.
12) Northern Harrier
13) Red-shouldered Hawk
14) Northern Flicker
15) Bushtit
16) Bewick's Wren
17) American Robin
18) Song Sparrow
19) Spotted Towhee@ianrosewrites What, no crows?
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@ianrosewrites What, no crows?
@koushiniku It's funny. There are always one or two super common birds that I don't see on my walks for the first few days. No crows yet, or starlings or house sparrows or pigeons. They'll come.
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Nice wet morning walk at Jackson-Frazier Wetland, always a great place for raptors. Today was no exception. The red-shouldered and the harrier were both close and in perfect light. Sometimes it feels like the birds are blessing you.
12) Northern Harrier
13) Red-shouldered Hawk
14) Northern Flicker
15) Bushtit
16) Bewick's Wren
17) American Robin
18) Song Sparrow
19) Spotted TowheeJust me, walking in the woods and looking at birds as my country commits an illegal invasion / smash and grab oil heist. I'm so tired and sorry and angry and sad.
20) Wild Turkey
21) Red-breasted Sapsucker
22) Brown Creeper -
@ianrosewrites Ian, just got back from a Wild Birds Unlimited store where we bought our first batch of feed/seed for the AI Camera/Bird Feeder we were gifted for Xmas.
"Smash and grab oil heist" for he WIN, dude.
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@ianrosewrites Bird walks seem like good places to work out those feelings. (Though of course I’d rather we didn’t have the kakistocracy to create them in the first place.)
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Just me, walking in the woods and looking at birds as my country commits an illegal invasion / smash and grab oil heist. I'm so tired and sorry and angry and sad.
20) Wild Turkey
21) Red-breasted Sapsucker
22) Brown CreeperI've gotten out on at least short birding walks 4/4 days this year, a streak that will probably end this week. But I'll do my best, because stress is definitely higher than I'd like it to be, between work and *gestures broadly*. About time you showed up, crow.
23) American Crow
24) Ruby-crowned Kinglet -
I've gotten out on at least short birding walks 4/4 days this year, a streak that will probably end this week. But I'll do my best, because stress is definitely higher than I'd like it to be, between work and *gestures broadly*. About time you showed up, crow.
23) American Crow
24) Ruby-crowned KingletOne streak that will definitely end today, 5/5 days in 2026 visiting a different park in my area. We are so lucky to have a lot of options, but I'll start repeating now, because only so many are in the range I can reasonably take off work to visit. And the rain seems to be returning tomorrow. Pretty out today, though.
25) Mourning Dove
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One streak that will definitely end today, 5/5 days in 2026 visiting a different park in my area. We are so lucky to have a lot of options, but I'll start repeating now, because only so many are in the range I can reasonably take off work to visit. And the rain seems to be returning tomorrow. Pretty out today, though.
25) Mourning Dove
Another rough day in the teetering empire, and the birds once again helped me stay reasonably mentally stable. Special shout out to this hawk, who not only let me get close, but even posed by fanning out their wings and tail. Pretty bird.
26) Cooper's Hawk
#BirdsOf2026 -
Another rough day in the teetering empire, and the birds once again helped me stay reasonably mentally stable. Special shout out to this hawk, who not only let me get close, but even posed by fanning out their wings and tail. Pretty bird.
26) Cooper's Hawk
#BirdsOf2026Oregon is a paradise for corvids. My easy four (crow, raven, scrub and Steller's jays) are all on the list now, with just Canada Jay left to find. Most years, I don't get to magpie or pinyon jay country, but I hope to at some point soon.
27) Common Raven
#BirdsOf2026 -
Oregon is a paradise for corvids. My easy four (crow, raven, scrub and Steller's jays) are all on the list now, with just Canada Jay left to find. Most years, I don't get to magpie or pinyon jay country, but I hope to at some point soon.
27) Common Raven
#BirdsOf2026@ianrosewrites I keep hoping for Canada jays while visiting my parents in central Oregon, but it hasn’t happened yet.
On the other hand, a few years ago Mom woke me up earrrrrly in the morning because to her utter astonishment there were two Clark’s Nutcrackers *in her yard*. That was an amazing lifer for me! (She had seen them before by going to a fairly remote mountain lake. Hehe!)
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@ianrosewrites I keep hoping for Canada jays while visiting my parents in central Oregon, but it hasn’t happened yet.
On the other hand, a few years ago Mom woke me up earrrrrly in the morning because to her utter astonishment there were two Clark’s Nutcrackers *in her yard*. That was an amazing lifer for me! (She had seen them before by going to a fairly remote mountain lake. Hehe!)
@faerye Nutcrackers! They are the ones I tend to forget. I haven't seen one in a few years, but I should really go looking for them.
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@faerye Nutcrackers! They are the ones I tend to forget. I haven't seen one in a few years, but I should really go looking for them.
@ianrosewrites I wish you luck! They're rather beautiful.
Of course I see ravens a bunch when visiting Bend, but last summer Mom and I happened across three scrungly, fully fledged younguns hanging out in the woods making their dread ape noises while the parents circled above, which was pretty neat!
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Oregon is a paradise for corvids. My easy four (crow, raven, scrub and Steller's jays) are all on the list now, with just Canada Jay left to find. Most years, I don't get to magpie or pinyon jay country, but I hope to at some point soon.
27) Common Raven
#BirdsOf2026My day was dominated by my other Birds, but despite that game not going my way, I got to see a top-notch sunset and as a huge bonus, actually saw, not just heard, my resident neighborhood owl. I'll take that.
28) House Finch
29) Great Horned Owl -
My day was dominated by my other Birds, but despite that game not going my way, I got to see a top-notch sunset and as a huge bonus, actually saw, not just heard, my resident neighborhood owl. I'll take that.
28) House Finch
29) Great Horned OwlI'm slowly running out of the easiest winter birds to see in my home counties. Neither rare nor elusive, but very pretty nonetheless. Starlings would be prized birds if they were rare and native, rather than invasive and common. So shiny.
30) European Starling
31) Red-winged Blackbird -
I'm slowly running out of the easiest winter birds to see in my home counties. Neither rare nor elusive, but very pretty nonetheless. Starlings would be prized birds if they were rare and native, rather than invasive and common. So shiny.
30) European Starling
31) Red-winged BlackbirdLess than ideal viewing conditions. (There is a river there, I promise.) But fog and other limited visibility can have a bright side. You see less, but you also see different things, because it changes bird behavior. Some come closer than they would on a clear day. Some fly lower. There are also sometimes fewer people out, especially if it's both cold and foggy, as it definitely is today. I see scaup fairly often, but usually from pretty far away. Today, they were close and clear.
32) Lesser Scaup
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I'm slowly running out of the easiest winter birds to see in my home counties. Neither rare nor elusive, but very pretty nonetheless. Starlings would be prized birds if they were rare and native, rather than invasive and common. So shiny.
30) European Starling
31) Red-winged Blackbird@ianrosewrites You’ve inspired me to keep track this year too! I’m at 30, mostly from my few birding visits to lakes/wetlands thus far.
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Less than ideal viewing conditions. (There is a river there, I promise.) But fog and other limited visibility can have a bright side. You see less, but you also see different things, because it changes bird behavior. Some come closer than they would on a clear day. Some fly lower. There are also sometimes fewer people out, especially if it's both cold and foggy, as it definitely is today. I see scaup fairly often, but usually from pretty far away. Today, they were close and clear.
32) Lesser Scaup
Fabulous day, bird-wise at least. It's very funny how long it took me to see a goose. They're everywhere, just not where I was walking until today. One of my favorite things is seeing two similar birds next to each other, to clearly see the differences. Today I got that with the woodpeckers. What a treat.
33) Canada Goose
34) Downy Woodpecker
35) Hairy Woodpecker
36) American Kestrel
37) Pacific Wren
38) Fox Sparrow -
Fabulous day, bird-wise at least. It's very funny how long it took me to see a goose. They're everywhere, just not where I was walking until today. One of my favorite things is seeing two similar birds next to each other, to clearly see the differences. Today I got that with the woodpeckers. What a treat.
33) Canada Goose
34) Downy Woodpecker
35) Hairy Woodpecker
36) American Kestrel
37) Pacific Wren
38) Fox SparrowThis is ridiculous, scary weather for western Oregon in January. But just for today, I'm choosing not to think about what it means for our water year or what it portends for summer. We spent 3 hours birding Salem's Minto-Brown Island Refuge and Park, and saw 21 species of birds, 6 of them new to me for the year. Glorious walk.
39) Gadwall
40) Great Blue Heron
41) Bald Eagle
42) Red-tailed Hawk
43) Belted Kingfisher
44) Western Bluebird -
This is ridiculous, scary weather for western Oregon in January. But just for today, I'm choosing not to think about what it means for our water year or what it portends for summer. We spent 3 hours birding Salem's Minto-Brown Island Refuge and Park, and saw 21 species of birds, 6 of them new to me for the year. Glorious walk.
39) Gadwall
40) Great Blue Heron
41) Bald Eagle
42) Red-tailed Hawk
43) Belted Kingfisher
44) Western BluebirdOne more, and now I'm really running out of easy winter ones. Still a few weird ducks to track down, but then it's going to slow way down until spring migration arrival. I'm three ahead of last year at this time, and more importantly, I've had some very pretty walks.
45) Golden-crowned Sparrow
