SWF>>Columbia River

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday and Green Day

I still have lots of images from my vacation in Oregon, On this day we were still hanging and traveling around the Columbia River Gorge area.  There were more birds to be found and more waterfalls to see and we did manage to see somewhat of a pretty sunset on the Columbia River.

We took a hike to see the Bridal Veil Falls near the old Scenic Highway. The green moss and ferns are pretty along the cliff of the waterfall. Birds seen and heard here were the Swainson's Thrush, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Cedar Waxwings and some Crows. I was also hearing Nuthatches but they were hiding in the treetops and teasing me.

Except for the size I find it hard to tell a Crow from the larger sized Raven. I believe the beak is a little different too.

A family of common mergansers were seen near the fish hatchery.

 

When we are on vacation we are constantly moving around beside stopping along the gorge we drove around the loop of Mt Hood to Timothy Lake. Here I also saw and heard more Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Nuthatches and more Thrushes.

 

I like the various shades of color left in the sky after the sun had set. I hope you enjoyed my photos. I have the Columbia coastline coming up next.  Thanks for stopping by to see my skywatch post.

To see more beautiful skies from around the world check out : Skywatch Friday  and more Greenery is seen at Green Day. Thanks Sylvia and Sandy the host of Skywatch Friday and to Fiona the host of Green Day.

Oregon Lifers

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

These are just two of the lifers I saw while on vacation in Oregon.  The Swainson's Thrush seem to be pretty common and everywhere I went. To me part of their song is similar to the Veery, but it is only a small part of its song. So it did confuse me, I was thinking I was hearing the Veery.

This bird was seen at the trailhead of the Oneonta Gorge. I think there were a few of them in the bushes but I was only able to get this shot.

The two shots above are the Swainson's Thrush. At least I think they are, LOL. This bird above was seen on the trail to the overlook at Cape Perpetua.

Another lifer, I believe this is the Rufous Hummingbird, maybe a juvie?It looks like it has the start of the coloring on the neck.  But, looking at the Allen's Hummingbird it seems to look a lot like the Rufous. The Allen's has a green back and the Rufous has a rufous back.

The Hummingbirds were flying around me and going to the feeders outside the gift store at the Multnomah Falls and visitor center. I have a lot of fun watching these gorgeous little birds.

 I want to thank Theresa of The Run*a*Round Ranch. I won this beautiful eagle drawing from her blog's giveaways. I love it, Theresa. Thanks again.



To see more beautiful birds please visit Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday. Thanks Stewart for hosting this fun meme. And to see more amazing nature scenes check out Michelle's Nature Notes

Favorite Mt Hood Scenes

I am linking up up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

These are some of my favorite scenes and shots of our to vacation. I have some shots of Mt Hood, Mirror Lake, some wildflowers, some of the birds were a Clarks Nutcracker and the Oregon Junco.

The Oregon Junco's seem to also be pretty common birds. This one looks to be feeding a juvie?

Timberline lodge plaque, Mt Hood, Clarks Nutcracker, Timberline Lodge, ski slope, skiers

Mirror Lake, large spruce trees and moss, wildflowers, bridge

Pretty reflection of Mt Hood on Mirror Lake.

The trail to Mirror lake. Along the trail I could hear various bird calls. I believe a common bird was the Veery. Edited: I was corrected about the Veery sounds, it was a Swainson Thrush I was hearing. Thanks Jen!

The Chestnut Chickadee a new lifer for me were everywhere we went. I could also hear and see the nuthatches.

To see more wonderful mosaics please visit Mary's Mosaic Monday  and to see photos and scenes from around the world at Our World Tuesday.
Thanks to Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting gang at Our World: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and I wish everyone a HAPPY week ahead.

More from Oregon

I am linking up with Green Day and Camera Critters.

Yeah,  Happy Weekend to everyone!! 

More photos on our Oregon vacation. Staying at the Troutdale Best Western  we were able to go sightseeing in different directions. On this day we drove to Mt Hood. It was a beautiful clear day and our views of Mt Hood were fabulous. But, we had to make some stops along the way to see waterfalls, birds and lavender.

The White Crowned Sparrow must be a common bird in Oregon. I saw them everywhere I went.

  Along the scenic Columbia Gorge highway we took a detour to see another waterfalls. Did I tell you Oregon has a lot of waterfalls. This waterfall in the photo above is called Horsetail Falls. This is an easy falls to see right off the road you can not miss it, LOL. I believe my hubby is like George and Betsy of Joyful Reflections they are all on a quest to see every waterfall in the states. LOL, my hubby would like to see every waterfall in the world.

As we made our way along the Scenic highway we also saw the Osprey on it nest.

On the way to Mt Hood I wanted to stop at the Mt Hood Lavender Farm. I had read about it on the internet and I knew there would be great views of Mt Hood. There was a Lavender Festival going on so we walked around the booths, ate some food, checked for birds and I bought some lavender items. Did you know a drop of Lavender oil on a light bulb can make a whole room smell wonderful?

 I loved see the rows of Lavender.

Even at the festival I was bird watching, hoping to see a west coast lifer. No lifer there but I did see the White Crowned Sparrow perched on a wire at the Lavender Farm. Since, I was doing the driving on our trip it was hard to look for birds, but I did manage to see some pretty Goldfinches or maybe they were the Lesser Goldfinch. Gee, now  I wished turned the car around and went back for a better look..

After leaving the lavender festival we headed on to our main objective for the day and it was to see Mt Hood. The photo above was our first view of the beautiful Mt Hood. Isn't it beautiful?




To see more beautiful green and lovely photos you should visit Fiona's  Green Day. And to see more cute critters please visit Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.  Thanks to Fiona of Green Day and to Misty for hosting Camera Critters. Also, thanks for stopping by my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

SWF>>>Oregon

I am linking up my Oregon skies with Nature Notes and Skywatch Friday

These are some shots during our visit to the Columbia River, the Gorge and another waterfall at the Gorge. We stopped at various overlooks along the Columbia Gorge. At one of the overlooks we saw the sun shining beautifully on the Vista House.

 

Above is a pretty view of the sky, river and the Columbia Gorge Vista House.

Above, hubby made this trip up the Oneonta Gorge to see another waterfalls. The trail to the waterfalls was a watery one. To see the Oneonta Falls, hubby had to first climb over a big log jam and then walk up the stream thru this narrow gorge. He said at times the water was up to his waste and he was holding my spare camera over his head in a backpack.

 

Above is the Oneonta Waterfalls. Hubby took this hike alone and I stayed  near the parking lot looking for birds. Let just say I tried to get some bird photos, luckily I saw them enough to id some before they took off.

I tried so hard to catch some of the swallows  flying above me at the Gorge trailhead. I am not sure if they were Cliff Swallows or another species of swallows or maybe they were swifts. At times I thought they landed on the cliff walls. They flew fast, I did have fun watching them zoom all around me.

This was my attempt at trying to get a photo of the Stellar's Jay. You can see a blue flash.

 

LOL,  seriously I really tried getting some good Oregon bird shots. This was a Cedar Waxwing showing off his pretty backside and tailfeathers. 

The sky looked threatening but it did not rain. 

The sun tried to shine and had a small opening before setting behind the clouds for the evening. We stayed near the Columbia River for three days before heading to the Oregon Coast. During our week stay in Oregon I took over 1600 photos and that does not include photos I took at my SIL's wedding in Washington state.

To see more pretty Nature Scenes and skies please visit : Nature Notes  and Skywatch Friday

Thanks to Michelle the host of Nature Notes and to host of Skywatch: Sylvia and Sandy.  Thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope the rest of the week and weekend is a safe and happy one for everyone.