Oregon from coast to mountains -July 19-24

Ocean view, Otter Crest State Wayside, Depoe Bay, OR, Jul 20, 2026

Canada Jay, OSU McDonald-Dunn Forest--Lewisburg Saddle, Corvallis, OR, Jul 20, 2026

Marsh at dusk from our rental house, Independence, OR, Jul 20, 2026

We left the rain and gloom of Alaska behind on Sunday and flew down tomorrow Portland to continue our vacation. We arrived late in the afternoon to sunny conditions and warmth. We would be staying two nights in Independence (about an hour and half south of Portland) before continuing south to the town of La Pine. The Airbnb we booked for the two nights in Independence was perfect…secluded and with a marsh right next door. We had a late dinner and then watched a great sunset complete with lots of bats and a Common Nighthawk. 

Monday started off with overcast conditions that eventually turned into sunny conditions and highs near 90. I began the morning early heading to Lewisburg Saddle in search of some forest birds and the hope of getting some better photos of Hermit Warblers for the year. I spent just under two hours exploring the area and had a couple Hermit Warblers (no photo opportunities) plus a great selection of forest birds including loads of Red Crossbills. I then headed back to get Sherri and we made the drive out to the coast where we stopped at a few beaches and viewpoints before returning back to the house in the mid afternoon. The coast was a bit cool when we were there and without a spotting scope it was tough to make out a lot of distant birds. Nonetheless I got a few new species for the year, some ice cream and some wine so all was good. Once we were back at the Airbnb I added a few more species to my Oregon list. 

Northern Flicker, Forest Peak, Corvallis, OR, Jul 21, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Forest Peak, Corvallis, OR, Jul 21, 2026

MacGillivray's Warbler, Forest Peak, Corvallis, OR, Jul 21, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Luckiamute SNA North, Albany, OR, Jul 21, 2026

Hairy Woodpecker, Luckiamute SNA North, Albany, OR, Jul 21, 2026

White tailed Deer, Luckiamute SNA North, Albany, OR, Jul 21, 2026

Sunrise, Forest Peak, Corvallis, OR, Jul 21, 2026

Salt Creek Falls, Lane County, OR, Jul 21, 2026

Tuesday we left Independence behind and made the three hour drive down to La Pine. Before leaving we got to enjoy the morning exploring a few areas in the Independence area. I was out just before sunrise and headed to a series of forestry roads with the hopes of finally getting a photo of a MacGillivray’s Warbler for the year and hopefully a few more new species for the year and I happily succeeded on both goals. Sherri and I then went to Luckiamute SNA-North and took a walk in the ever increasing temps before heading back to back up stuff and move on. There were so many other trails nearby to explore that I didn’t have the time to get to that I’m sure a longer stay would have produced a number of other species but it was not to be. The highs for the day reached into the low 90’s with slightly cooler temps in the mountains as we drove over to La Pine. We made a brief stop at Salt Creek Falls (the second highest waterfall in Oregon apparently) and I had at least one Black Swift (a rare breeder in the state). We made it to our lodging in the mid afternoon and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Hermit Warbler, Paulina Lake, La Pine, OR, Jul 22, 2026

Brewer's Blackbird, Paulina Lake, La Pine, OR, Jul 22, 2026

American Coot, Paulina Lake, La Pine, OR, Jul 22, 2026

Dark eyed Junco 'Oregon', Paulina Lake, La Pine, OR, Jul 22, 2026

I was up early on Wednesday and headed out before dawn to some forested areas near Crane Prairie Reservoir and spent about an hour and a half there before heading back to our lodging. I had a couple new species for the state at the reservoir. We then headed back up in elevation to Paulina Lake where we took a few hikes and I added even more species to my Oregon list. By late in the morning the temps were pushing 90 so further hikes in the open were not an option. Some afternoon thunderstorms rolled through as we relaxed. 

Common Nighthawk, Forest Service Road 62 at Crescent Creek, Gilchrist, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Wizard Island, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Mountains to the north, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Wizard Island, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Phantom Ship, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Hermit Warbler, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Canada Jay, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Mountain Chickadee, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Clark's Nutcracker, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Butterfly species (Azure?), Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Yellow bellied Marmot, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Mount Shasta, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

Phantom Ship, Crater Lake NP, OR, Jul 23, 2026

The last full day in Oregon found us making the drive south to Crater Lake National Park. I had seen the park a long time ago (1999 to be exact) and it truly is an impressive sight to see. Before we made the drive down I was out the door before dawn and drove some forest service roads nearby in the fog. Yet again the number of Common Nighthawks in the area was impressive with multiples at ever stop I made before dawn. The last stop was the best when I had at least four sitting in the road near a small stream crossing. I even managed a few photos with light provided by the cars headlights. After watching the nighthawks for a bit I made a short stop at a place called Gilcrist Crossing. The main draw at the location is breeding Northern Waterthrushes. One of just a couple breeding locations in the state for the species. I got brief views and a recording before I had to head back to pick and Sherri and head to Crater Lake. We arrived around eight and got some fantastic views from a few viewpoints before headed for our first hike of the morning at Castle Crest Wildflower Trail. We picked this spot as the first one to avoid the crowds later in the morning. A great selection of birds were around including three species of warblers and a Calliope Hummingbird enjoying the wildflowers. By the time we finished the walk there it was getting crowded so we headed back the way we came with the final destination being the hike to Plaikni Falls with more brief stops along the way at various viewpoints. The complete drive around the lake was not possible as part of the road in the southern part of the park was closed for repairs. This required some backtracking over the course of the day but might have kept the crowds slightly reduced at the locations furthest from the entrances. The mile hike into the falls had some active pockets of birds and the falls themselves were nice and came complete with a family of Yellow bellied Marmots and lots of wildflowers. By this point it was midday and we then worked our way back out of the park and back to La Pine where we arrived in the middle of the afternoon. We had great, clear weather and fantastic looks at the lake…it is one of those places that you really need to see in real life at some point. This trip was a little bittersweet as the original plan was to visit my uncle Ed before the trip down to Crater Lake but he died last September so the trip got modified a bit...it was nice to see Mount Shasta in the distance on the trip to Crater Lake...Mount Shasta was the namesake of the ship he commanded before retiring from the navy.  A nice, final full day in Oregon. 

Red Crossbill, Gilchrist Crossing, OR, Jul 24, 2026

Great Blue Heron, Gilchrist Crossing, OR, Jul 24, 2026

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Northern Yellow Warbler, Gilchrist Crossing, OR, Jul 24, 2026

Green tailed Towhee, Gilchrist Crossing, OR, Jul 24, 2026

Mountain Chickadee, Gilchrist Crossing, OR, Jul 24, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Gilchrist Crossing, OR, Jul 24, 2026

White headed Woodpecker, Eddington Road, Sisters, OR, Jul 24, 2026

Pygmy Nuthatch, Eddington Road, Sisters, OR, Jul 24, 2026

Friday would bring the vacation to a close with a late night red eye flight back to Boston from Portland.  I was out early again and headed back down to Gilchrist Crossing to try to get photos of the Northern Waterthrush there.  Although I didn't get any photos of the waterthrush I had a bunch of other birds with half a dozen species of warblers and loads of Red Crossbills over the course of two and a half hours.  I then returned to the lodging to back up and start the long drive to the airport.  Wildfires along the way curtailed a few plans and kept visibility limited for a lot of the trip.  We skirted the wildfires and made a brief stop in Sisters to pick up a long overdue lifer for me (#2195) with some Pinyon Jays.  I got to see a few but no chance to get photos.  We planned on a stop at a few overlooks but the smoke was so thick you could not see anything so we continued on to the area of Mount Hood (we visited this same area in 2017).  We took a couple short hikes there and planned to stop at a few waterfalls along the Columbia River but some major traffic tie ups due to some accidents made us change those plans and continue toward the airport via a different route.  We planned to head to a winery/cidery close to Portland to spend a few hours before going to the airport.  As we got closer we noticed lots of signs for 'no parking' due to some concert.  Eventually we got tied up in the traffic from the concert for the group Cake but with a few pointers from those directing traffic we were able to get to the winery.  After a couple hours there we headed to the airport and had a few hours to waste before our red eye home.

During the time in Oregon I found 121 species with many new species for my Oregon state list that now stands at 149.

Full eBird trip report here: Oregon 2026

More on warblers for my time in Oregon here: Oregon warblers