A successful Second Annual Columbia Slough Biking Big Day!
Blog post an by Thomas Meinzen, Communications & Program Associate
In one day by bicycle in the Columbia Slough watershed, CSWC bird walk leaders Ryan Gilpin and Thomas Meinzen searched to see how many bird species they could find by pedal power!
We collected pledges per bird species to support watershed conservation efforts and the Council's free bird walk program. All pledged donations went directly to the Columbia Slough Watershed Council to support habitat restoration, conservation, and free bird walks and other naturalist events for the community.
On May 18, Ryan and I spent the whole day on bicycles exploring the Columbia Slough watershed, looking for as many bird species as we could find from dawn to dusk in the longtime birding tradition of a “Big Day.” Our goal was to find 100 species of birds (our record from last year), and conservation was on the line—generous donors had pledged an amount (between 20 cents and a dollar) for each bird species we found, so the more birds, the more funds raised for the Council!
Over the course of the day, we biked and walked 47 miles across the Columbia Slough watershed (route below), found 83 species of birds, and as of today, raised over $1,000 in pledges for watershed conservation and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council's free bird walk program!
For a narrative report of our day and the birds we found, read on…
For our second annual Columbia Slough Biking Big Day, we met up in the early morning at Ryan’s house in N Portland, catching our first birds—Dark-eyed Juncos, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and an Evening Grosbeak—by ear as we checked our tires and packed our baskets and panniers for a day of riding. Soon we were off, coasting through the cool shade of Pier Park, with the morning sun slicing between tall fir trees and a canopy full of birdsong above: Chestnut-backed Chickadees, robins, and our only PURPLE FINCH of the day. The 6 am temperature was perfect, signaling that the day would be another hot one, following the wave of unseasonable warmth toasting western Oregon this week.
Crossing into the tiny Chimney Park, a buzzy song alerted us to a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, our only one of the day, which we eventually spotted in a treetop. Continuing on, we crossed the Columbia Boulevard overpass toward Kelley Point Park, dodging broken glass and spotting a CINNAMON TEAL in flight and two WOOD DUCKS in the wetlands below. We heard the songs of Common Yellowthroats and Red-winged Blackbirds between the roars of trucks, and Eurasian Collared-Doves taunted us from the wires above (somehow, we missed the species in our biking big day last year).
Perhaps my favorite moment of our biking big day route is arriving at Kelley Point Park, which on a mid-May morning is teeming with green growth and bird life. We quickly heard and eventually saw Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Western Wood-Pewees, Warbling Vireos, House Wrens, Downy Woodpeckers, and other common riparian breeders in the park’s beautiful cottonwood gallery forest. This is the best place I know in Portland to see RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, and several bright orange males near the blooming madrones did not disappoint. Scanning the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers from the tip of Kelley Point Park, we added Bald Eagle, Osprey, and most surprisingly, an out-of-place BRANDT’S CORMORANT, a coastal species which has been lingering in the area since wintertime.
Emerging into the meadows on the west side of the park, we watched a dazzling flock of migrant WESTERN TANAGERS and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, and soon heard the telltale cry of a PILEATED WOODPECKER, which flew into the clearing and soon got to work on a downed log, where we were able to watch it at close range. At one point, the huge Pileated began pecking at a stump in which resided a nesting Tree Swallow, and after several swoops and dives, the swallow successfully chased the big woodpecker off.
After completing our loop of the park on foot, we hopped back on our bikes and headed for Smith and Bybee, a giant urban wetland and one of the Columbia Slough watershed’s crown jewels. Here, we found a singing PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER and spotted a lovely GREEN HERON, but found the lakes to be nearly devoid of ducks, an ill omen for achieving our 100-species goal.
Nonetheless, we cycled on to one of my favorite sections of our ride. Atop the levee path along the banks of the Columbia Slough, we rode south of the historic site of Vanport, a WWII-era city that once housed over 40,000 people before being washed away by a catastrophic flood in 1948. Today, this area of floodplain is home to a raceway and a municipal golf course as well as a variety of birds, including our first BLACK PHOEBE and only Northern Shoveler and Killdeer of the day. Ryan also spotted a single late CACKLING GOOSE amid a flock of Canadas in one of the golf course ponds.
The scarcity of ducks we’d observed earlier became especially apparent when we arrived at Force Lake, normally home to several species of diving ducks. Last year, we added about a dozen species to our list here and at the adjacent Vanport Wetlands, but this year… zilch. Gadwall and Mallard pairs were evident at Force Lake and we spotted a single Pied-billed Grebe along with the active colony of PURPLE MARTINS at Vanport Wetlands. But with all the diving ducks likely gone to their breeding grounds in response to the week’s heat wave, we feared we’d struggle to even come close to the 100 species we’d found last year.
Still, we pressed on to the Columbia Children’s Arboretum, one of the loveliest parks in the watershed, which has been substantially improved since last year with nice wheelchair accessible paths, picnic tables, and parking. Here, we lucked into several species we’d missed earlier, including a singing HUTTON’S VIREO, a Hairy Woodpecker, and strangely silent Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches. The park also afforded nice views of Swainson’s Thrush and a good spot to stop for lunch.
After a bite, we rode up to Marine Drive and over toward Broughton Beach, where the heat of afternoon really picked up. Although the expansive blue of the Columbia River was mostly empty of birdlife, we did add Double-crested Cormorant and spotted a single LESSER SCAUP as we biked along the path beside Marine Drive. The fields by the airport yielded a number of Savannah Sparrows, our only American Kestrel of the day, and two sky-blue LAZULI BUNTINGS.
After reaching the edge of Government Island, we turned around and began making our way back toward Whitaker Ponds, hoping to pick up some missing ducks and waterbirds there. Along the way, we added NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS and RING-NECKED DUCKS along the sloughs crossing 33rd Drive. Arriving at Whitaker Ponds in the mid-afternoon, we stopped by the Columbia Slough Watershed Council office to fill up our water bottles and say hello to Amanda, the CSWC Events Director, who was preparing for this weekend’s terrific Slough Celebration event. After a quick snack break in the cool air of the office, we returned to the heat to walk around Whitaker Ponds.
A silent STELLER’S JAY greeted us in the shade at the start of the Whitaker path, our 83rd species of the day. The ponds, alas, were quiet, with a few pairs of Mallard and Wood Ducks turning slow zigzags as darner dragonflies plied the air above. This was our last stop for waterfowl, and we still hadn’t found even a single coot!
From Whitaker, we began our return journey, biking west through the neighborhoods of north Portland and birding at Alberta and Woodlawn Parks to try to pick up some of the missing warblers and flycatchers. No dice. We birded Willamette Bluffs (the Dog Bowl), finding a beautiful and tiny Anna’s Hummingbird nest with two eggs placed a few feet high at a turn in the trunk of a bigleaf maple sapling. This lovely sight seemed a fitting way to end the day, although we tried a few more spots before calling it a day and returning to Ryan’s place around 7 pm. Although at 83 species we hadn’t neared last year’s total, we’d had a great day out, biked and walked ~47 miles, and seen a host of cool birds. We were already looking forward to trying again, earlier in May, next year!
Many thanks to all those who pledged to support our Big Day and helped make the Columbia Slough watershed an even better place for birds—and people! If you would like to contribute a donation or pledge in celebration of the Big Day, you can do so here. Thank you!