Columbia Slough

March 18, 2025

A cheer echos off the walls of Team Anderson’s huge one bedroom apartment with a closable bedroom door so that the walkin’ and filmin’ half of the team can sleep in while the bikin’ and bloggin’ half sits at the spacious dining room table scribbling out the day’s post. The team spontaneously squeals with delight as it reviews the day’s unexpectedly rosy forecast. It’s not raining! It’s not windy!! True, it’s not sunny and warm either, with last night’s lows still hovering near freezing and the highs expected to max out at around 48F. And it’s a temporary respite, with the rains due to return with a vengeance again by early afternoon.

Good enough for Rocky to forgo another trip to LA Fitness though, and as soon as she’s downed her first caffiene shot and waxes coherent we discuss plans for the day. Before long Rachael’s bundled up and out the door on a brisk, energetic 13 mile walk south along the river to Willamette Park and back. She returns several hours later with no photos, but proof:

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For myself the plan for the day is obvious too. I’ve been waiting for the day dry enough for me to drive out to the big river and bike the length of the Columbia Slough looking for a few new species that I know are possibilities here. With luck I’ll bike most of its length from Kelly Point at the west to perhaps Vancouver Boulevard on the east; but it depends on how long the weather holds.

To give myself the most flexibility I park in the middle at the parking lot by Smith Lake, unload Roddy and start biking west. I’m just crossing North Portland Road when I look up at the trees ahead and see a good omen for the day: a large dark shape silouhetted at the apex of one that I take as an immature bald eagle until it flies off and I see its distinctive wedge-shaped tail. Soon after that. I see a tiny silouhette that I’m finally getting better at recognizing and pick up an Anna’s hummingbird. The largest and smallest birds of the day are the first two seen.

This part of the slough is often an excellent birding site. There’s a bald-eagle’s nest here that’s often occupied, and I almost always see great egrets and blue herons along with flocks of geese and gulls on the Vanport golf course. It’s pretty slim pickings today, but I don’t come away empty handed: a common merganser, cackling and Canada geese, a red-tailed hawk and starlings get dropped into the creel. And there’s the real prize, the shot that makes today’s whole outing worth it: the first osprey of the year, probably just arriving from the south today or in the last few days, patiently perched on a snag while crows noisily dive bomb him in futility trying to chase him off.

Trust me, a minute ago there was a red-tailed hawk in those trees ahead.

Osprey! Not an addition to the year’s list, but a much better look than that poor but unexpected shot of one down in Tucson last month.

There’s stilll another mile or two of the slough I could explore but when I come to the freeway I decide to turn away from it and bike through Vanport, stoping next at Force Lake, another good spot that often has a variety of waterfowl as well as sparrows, juncos, towhees and the like. It’s surprisingly quiet here today too, but it still nets me my first mallard, a canvasback, and some lesser scaups. That’s not nothin’ I tell myself as I bike up toward the path atop the berm along the river.

It’s quiet on the river too! So strange. Canada geese crowd the trail and grudgingly give way as I edge past them, but other than that there are only a few birds to be seen. Still, bird by bird I’m building a list for the day and am mentally working to keep track: two raptors, the Raven and crow, two blackbirds, a robin, a hummingbird, a merganser, three ducks. It’s starting to amount to something, and I still haven’t seen a single ground bird yet. Maybe I’ll hit 25 or 30 by the time I’m done?

The narrower split of the Columbia River, with the western tip of Hayden Island visible through the Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge.

A pair of tough-looking, autocratic western gulls defend their barge against all comers.

Such a common bird, but they pick such colorful spots to perch at times.

At the railroad bridge I turn back toward the slough again and return to the bike path. A stop at Bybee Lake brings in a few more waterbirds, though there’s less diversity this morning than I often find here. At first I just pick up the gadwalls, buffleheads, ring-billed ducks and wigeons, but I’m surprised later when I empty out the bucket and a teal and pair of wood ducks drop out.

American wigeons, too far out for a good shot.

I agree, it’s blissful when the sun breaks through for a few minutes and and briefly warms us up.

I almost turn back toward the car here - in fact I do briefly turn back when a brief shower forces me to put the camera away and a check of the forecast makes it look like the first showers are arriving early. I get a few hundred yards though when the showers stop and I see that there are still scattered windows of pale blue breaking through here and there. I reverse direction again and continue on to Kelly Point with visions of ground birds, woodpeckers and sapsuckers dancing in my head and the hopes for a 30+ day feeling increasingly likely. It’s not to be though, as surprisingly I end the day without seeing even a single sparrow, junco or towhee. Pretty amazing.

Still, 26 is a pretty fair list given how few birds are out today; and I do get one new one for the year when the first violet-green swallows swoop low across Force Lake, too fast and fleetingly for a shot. Worth the outing, and way more fun than sitting inside working on the income taxes. I’ll take it, gladly.

At Kelly Point and the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Along with the birds, river traffic is slow today. There’s only one freighter waiting off the shore of Sauvie Island, when often two or three would be queued up. I wonder if the political situation is drying up Portland’s port already.

The path to Smith Lake is beautiful as always but surprisingly barren today also.

At least here’s one bold Canadian who’s not boycotting us - yet.

#124: Violet-green swallow, downloaded from All About Birds. Such a surprisingly colorful bird when you get a good look, which I didn’t. Mine were more like the two on the lower right.

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Today’s list: Rock dove, American crow, American robin, American wigeon, Eurasian starling, Common Raven, Common merganser, Osprey, Red-tailed hawk, Northern flicker, Double-crested cormorant, Anna’s hummingbird, Cackling goose, Canada goose, Mallard, Northern shoveler, Bufflehead, Green-winged teal, Gadwall, Lesser scaup, Wood duck, Canvasback, Red-winged blackbird, Western gull, Ring-necked duck, Violet-green swallow, Ruddy duck (27)

Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 1,223 miles (1,968 km)

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Carolyn van HoeveHi Scott & Rachael, if you have any thoughts of an e-bike in your future, I've just read about a Cube Fold Hybrid E-Bike that's just been released. The bikes we've got stored in Paris are Cubes and have been brilliant.
Looking forward to your next adventure and so pleased it's happening!
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1 week ago

Scott AndersonTo Carolyn van HoeveEBikes? When we’re only 66 and 78?
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1 week ago

Carolyn van HoeveSpring chickens - I knew that! Future thinking is what I was suggesting :)
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6 days ago