Here are some visual highlights from an August, 2019 trip to Oregon for the Audubon Naturalist Society. Beginning in Portland, we first traveled through the Columbia River Gorge before heading to Bend, where we explored high desert and Cascade Mountain habitats, and then on to Newport for coastal explorations. We made a couple short stops in the Willamette Valley en route back to Portland and journey's end. Tom Reed led the trip along with Mark Garland.
OREGON, AUGUST 2019
We were in Bend for 3 nights, exploring high desert and Cascade mountain habitats.
Our very congenial group.
Our first explorations were along the Columbia River Gorge.
Four nights at Newport gave us plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and explore coastal habitats.
We like to stay at scenic locations. Our lodge in Bend was right along the Deschutes River.
At Newport we all enjoyed views of the Pacific Ocean from our rooms, at times watching gray whales out there.
Multnomah Falls, along the Columbia River Gorge, the very first destination on our trip.
The view from Cape Perpetua, just one of many scenic overlooks on the Oregon coast.
Brown Creeper
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red Crossbill
Young Common Yellowthroat
Steller's Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
We took a half-day boat trip while at Newport. The boat trip mixed birding with marine biology and conservation.
We visited coastal tidepools at low tide, green sea anemones are shown here.
We visited two great eduational facilities, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, there this Tufted Puffin posed for photos, and the High Desert Museum in Bend, home to many Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels.
Black Oystercatcher
Common Murre
Brandt's Cormorants
Caspian Tern
Our last stops were in the Willamette Valley
Acorn Woodpeckers thrive in the Willamette Valley
Leaders Tom Reed and Mark Garland
Sunset at Newport