Winter Birds up the Columbia

Winter bird watching along the Columbia river can be surprisingly good if one heads for any of the dams upstream from Portland. Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary dams are all easily accessible within a day’s drive.

by David Lukas

McNary Dam has made national news for rare sitings, like the time an extremely rare Ross’ Gull stopped by for a visit.  I was introduced to the dams when I went to see a Little Gull at John Day Dam a few years ago.  I was amazed to see large groups of water birds there.  Apparently birds show up to feed on smolt in fall and stay through the winter.

At any of the dams there are two primary places to check out.  Diving ducks concentrate around the spillways below dams.  Look here for Greater and Lesser Scaup, Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads and others.  Fish-eating birds are found on the reservoirs above the dams; find a safe place to stop and scan for mergansers, grebes and rarer birds like loons.  Anyone looking for a challenge can work through the groups of gulls which are common at the dams.

It is also worth checking out the trees and shrubs around any visitor facilities for roosting owls or sparrow flocks.
The best part about birding the dams is that they seem to be magnets for rare and unusual birds, so keep your eyes open!