World Trip Reports
Three weeks in Oregon!
I just got back from a 3-week trip to Oregon. I spent the first week in Newport (along the coast) participating in a bird migration workshop, the next week in Portland at the AOU/COS/SCO meeting, and the third week travelling around on my own. It was all a blast, and I got to see so much of the state. I have been to Oregon several times before, but this was the first extended trip to the state since I started birding.
My week is going to be hectic, so I'll give a general summary of my trip here, and post stories, pictures, and a list at later times. I have lived all my life in the eastern US and done the vast majority of my birding here, so there was much to see. This trip finally got me some widespread western species that I had missed on shorter (or mid-winter) trips out west, such as Lazuli Bunting and Black-headed Grosbeak. I visited many different habitat types, including both rocky and sandy coastlines, my first pelagic trip, moist coniferous rainforest, high-altitude spruce and fir forest, dry ponderosa pine and juniper forests, sagebrush plains, rocky canyons, mountain lakes and tundra, oak woodlands of the Willamette Valley, and marshes. Of the 185+ species I saw during my trip, and of the searched-for specialties and surprise rarities I found, somehow Varied Thrush eluded me. I try not to dwell on my dips, but come on, Varied Thrush! That d@mn bird that's on the cover of half my western/oregen birding books! I guess I was out there during the only bad time for that species, when they've stopped singing on their breeding grounds but haven't yet shown up in everybody's back yard.
But of course disappointment is part of the game, as are joyful surprises. It was wonderful to spend 3 weeks in one of my all-time favorite parts of this country. I'll post stories and pictures later of specific trips and birds. 
Looking forward to this thread Ovenbird. My sister lives in Portland and I will be going there again. Did you go to Ridgefield? Fantastic place that I went to last summer, mega raptorland!!
I've seen varied thrush in Central Oregon 
in winter....cool bird!
Joanne
I began my trip with a long day of traveling. My plane left northwest Arkansas at 6-something (am), and I arrived in Portland, OR sometime in the afternoon (local time). There I waited around for several hours while other workshop participants arrived and congregated, and then we were driven the 3 hours to Newport. I was quite tired when we finally arrived, but anxious to get out for at least some quick birding. My first life bird of the trip was a Brandt's Cormorant in the mouth of the harbor. Other common birds were Pelagic Cormorant, Western Gull, California Gull, and Pigeon Guillemot. There was an expanse of scrub and grass behind the beach, which held Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows (the very gray northwestern race), and Spotted Towhees. I heard Wrentits singing, and later in the week would finally get a look at these guys.
The workshop was pretty intensive and left little free time, especially during the first couple of days, but I managed to catch quick snatches of birding in the estuary and along the nearby beach. High tide occasionally brought shorebirds into the estuary, including a surprise 4 Red Knots still in breeding plumage one afternoon. Whimbrels were fairly common on the beach. A walk alongside the estuary one night produced a Great Horned Owl.
On my first evening off, I decided to combine a long run with some birding. About 5 miles north of our hotel was a rocky outcrop known as Yaquina Head, which supports nesting seabirds. So I put on my running clothes, grabbed my binoculars, and headed out. I took the direct route through town on the way out, which was pretty trafficky for most of the way. But I felt well-rewarded when I arrived. Common Murres and Pelagic Cormorants were jammed onto every exposed surface on the offshore rocks, with the noise of juveniles begging at returning adults creating a continuous cacophony even above the roar of the Pacific. The occasional Pigeon Guillemot whistled among the screaming gulls and Chewbacca-like wailing of the murres. I climbed down to the exposed tide pools, where I saw my first Black Oystercatchers and Wandering Tattler. Harbor seals were hauled up on some of the rocks. On my way back out of the park, I saw 2 Surf Scoters sitting on the water. I took a different route back, mostly along the sandy beach, which was hard-packed for easy running. Along the beach I saw Heerman's Gulls, along with small groups of shorebirds including Whimbrels, Black-bellied Plovers, and one Short-billed Dowitcher.
I didn't have my camera for this part of the trip... but one of my labmates brought it to me when we met in Portland for the AOU/COS/SCO meeting.
To be continued...