Riverside ramble

February 12, 2024

Rachael and I had planned a ride east out the Springwater Corridor to Gresham or Boring for today - a ride she’d like to take while we’re here but one she wants an escort for because it’s been hit-or-miss for the last several years, the homeless population intermittently encroaching on the trail or in retreat depending on how long it’s been since the latest whack-a-mole camp sweep has come through.

Plans change though when a check of the weather forecast shows that there’s the chance of mid-day showers. That’s enough to sway Rachael into opting for a walk in nearby Washington Park instead, and before long she’s out the door on foot on a 12 mile out and back up Balch Creek and north on the Wildwood Trail.

For myself, I decide on a loop along the Willamette, and if I’m lucky with the weather I’ll continue north up to the Columbia Slough. Hopefully I’ll turn up a new bird or two. I’m almost guaranteed at least one when I bike along the south waterfront, where this time of year there’s nearly always a flock of cackling geese milling around.

I start by heading toward the north end of the path beneath the Fremont Bridge and work my slow way south, checking out the river for unusual waterfowl sightings and the underbrush for sparrows. Nothing new shows up today, but I do get a nice look at a common goldeneye. And as I pass beneath the Fremont Bridge I look up wondering if I’ll ever see one of the peregrine falcons that apparently nest here. I’ve never seen one, here or anywhere - and I’m sure I’d need more powerful optics to get any kind of look at a bird way up there on this lofty bridge.

It’s not the most promising sky when I set out. It’s hard to say how much of a ride I’ll fit in.

The view south beneath the Fremont Bridge.

I’m surprised when I get to the south waterfront when I find the broad grassy expanse there nearly empty. There are a couple of large Canada geese sauntering around, but the cacklers are AWOL today. So that’s a disappointment, until I look down to the water and see they’re all out for a swim at the moment.

Nautilus Deep Sea, a work temporarily placed here as part of the Winter Light Festival.

I continue south, past Tilikum Crossing and on to Willamette Park. I consider crossing over to the east bank on Tilikum Crossing and then heading north toward the Columbia Slough, but decide at the last minute to continue south to the Sellwood Bridge, thinking I might have more luck around the bird feeders in Oaks Bottom today. It will prove to be a consequential snap decision, in a good way.

The view north to the Ross Island Bridge. It’s really a nice sky for bringing out the cobalt blue new paint job that was just completed a year or two ago.

Posing at a familiar spot in Willamette Park.

I’m happy to have picked up my first common mergansers of the tour when I make the turn and cross the Sellwood Bridge. On the other side I head straight down to the Riverfront Park, thinking I might find some golden-crowned sparrows. Instead, I find an elderly woman staring through an enormous telescopic lens back up at the bridge I’ve just crossed So I intrude and ask her what she’s staring at. Oh, that peregrine falcon up there.

Back in I think tenth grade sixty-some years ago I wrote a pair of research papers - one about the whooping cranes that were nearing extinction at that point, down to only about twenty birds if I remember correctly - and the other about the also endangered peregrine falcons, their existence threatened by DDT which affected their calcium metabolism so much that they layed thin-shelled eggs that would crush under the mother’s weight. I forget now what drew me to the inspiring stories of the fight to recover their numbers, but I do remember reading something by or about Tom Cade, the man credited with saving the peregrines from extinction - the same famous ornithologist that started the world-renowned ornithology program at Cornell University.

I’ve hoped to see either of these birds sometime in my life ever since. The whooping cranes are doubtful, because they’re found in such a restricted range - but maybe some winter we could make a pilgramage down to the Aransas Refuge in Texas, their primary wintering site. Peregrines have made a real rebound though, and I’ve been holding out hope that someday I’d find myself at the right place at the right time.

So here I am. She points the bird out, perched atop a light standard at the far side of the bridge. I must have just biked right beneath it, but was looking down at the water instead of up.

Too distant for a real look. I’d better return to the bridge.

I can tell it’s a peregrine alright even at this distance, but obviously I head straight back to the bridge hoping he won’t have flown off before I get close enough for a better look. And I’m in luck. I stop for a photo as soon as I see him ahead, and then keep closing in for a better shot. I finally stop when I’m about two light standards away - this is good enough, and there’s no need to disturb him.

Nothing else needs to happen after that to make this one of the most memorable birding days of my life, so it’s just icing on the cake when I drop in at Oaks Bottom and find that the woods are alive with birds around the feeders today, the spot that was deserted yesterday. I’m excited to see a half dozen flickers, and the downy woodpecker I hoped I’d see here as I have several times in the past - and in fact there’s one right above me in the tree I’m leaning against, I realize when I notice that its slender trunk is lightly vibrating and look up. Even better though are the pair of red-breasted sapsuckers, another woodpecker that I think I’ve seen only once before.

I’m there for maybe a half hour, and together with all the other stops I’ve made it’s getting too late to make it out to the Columbia Slough so I just head home. I’m anxious to unload photos, anxious to show Rachael what I’ve just been blessed with seeing.

Two way traffic on the Steel Bridge today.

Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 1,599 miles (2,573 km)

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Kelly IniguezI'm happy for your good birding day!
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2 months ago

Jen RahnWhat a day!

I'm celebrating with you. 🌞
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2 months ago