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"Freeway Birds"

Freeway Birds: In the late spring 2011 Gene and I decided to keep a list of all of the birds we could identified while driving the freeways ... we even set up some general "rules" for ourselves, the main ones being that our driving speed had to be 50 mph or more and the bird had to be seen on freeways or other "main" roads ... enjoy, Lyn accepted roads are freeways, highways, and other roads considered to be "main" roads ... no backroads, city streets, or Refuge roads ... driving speeds must be 50 mph or more ... the only exceptions are in the case of Washington State Route 4 or other similar highways, where speeds of 45 are permitted on the winding turns ... no turning around and backtracking to see the bird again to get a better ID ... bird ID of "species" is acceptible ... ID-ing birds because you KNOW they are there doesn't count (i.e., the Mute Swan at Steigerwald Lake Refuge which can be seen from Washington State Highway 14) ... photographing the birds is optional however if you're the driver it is NOT recommended ... "Life list" species seen ... (alphabetical): American Coot ... American Crow ... American Goldfinch ... (2012) American Kestrel ... American Robin ... American Wigeon ... (2012) Bald Eagle ... Belted Kingfisher ... Black-billed Magpie ... Brewer's Blackbird ... Bufflehead ... Cackling Goose ... California Quail ... (2012) Canada Goose ... Caspian Tern ... Cedar Waxwing ... Common Merganser ... (2012) Common Raven ... Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawk ... Double-crested Cormorant ... Eurasian Collared-Dove ... European Starling ... Finch (species) ... (2012) Glaucous-winged Gull ... Goldeneye (species) ... (2012) Great Blue Heron ...   Great Egret ... Great-tailed Grackle ... (Arizona, 2012) Green-winged Teal ... Hooded Merganser ... (2012) Horned Grebe ... Mallard ... Mourning Dove ... Northern Flicker ... Northern Harrier ...   Osprey ... Pied-billed Grebe ...   Red-tailed Hawk ... Red-winged Blackbird ... Ring-necked Duck ... (2012) Ring-necked Pheasant ...   Rock Pigeon ... Sandhill Crane ...   Scaup (species) ... Sparrow (species) ... Stellar's Jay ... Surf Scoter ... Swallow (species) ... Tundra Swan ...   Turkey Vulture ... Western Grebe ... (2012) Western Meadowlark ... Western Scrub Jay ... White-tailed Dove ... (Arizona, 2012) Woodpecker (species) ... (2012) Species seen because we KNEW they were there ... (alphabetical) Bank Swallow ... (colony, Toutle River, seen from I-5) Mute Swan ... (Steigerwald Lake NWR, seen from Washington State Route 14) 2012 list ... (alphabetical): American Coot ... American Crow ... American Goldfinch ... American Kestrel ... American Robin ... American Wigeon ... Bald Eagle ... Black-billed Magpie ... Brewer's Blackbird ... Bufflehead ... Cackling Goose ... California Quail ... Canada Goose ... Common Merganser ... Common Raven ... Double-crested Cormorant ... European Starling ... Finch (species) ... Glaucous-winged Gull ... Goldeneye (species) ... Great Blue Heron ... Great Egret ... Great-tailed Grackle ... (Arizona) Hooded Merganser ... Horned Grebe ... Mallard ... Northern Harrier ... Pied-billed Grebe ... Red-tailed Hawk ... Ring-necked Duck ... Ring-necked Pheasant ... Rock Pigeon ... Sandhill Crane ... Scaup (species) ... Steller's Jay ... Swallow (species) ... Tundra Swan ... Turkey Vulture ... Western Grebe ... Western Scrub Jay ... White-winged Dove ... (Arizona) Woodpecker (species) ... Years ... 2011 (9 months only) ... 43 species, plus 2 "knew they were there" species ... Freeway Birds Click image to enlarge Great Egrets.   Great Egrets on lake south of Vancouver Lake, as seen from Washington State Highway 501 (Lower River Road), Vancouver Lake Lowlands. Image taken while passenger in car, November 4, 2011, Canon S95. Click image to enlarge Osprey.   Osprey nest located east of Multnomah Falls and seen from Interstate-84, Oregon. Image taken while passenger in car, August 12, 2011. Sony "superzoom" HX100v. Click image to enlarge Red-tailed Hawk.   Red-tailed Hawk on light pole on Washington State Highwy 500. Image taken while passenger in car, August 12, 2011. Sony "superzoom" HX100v. Click image to enlarge Rock Pigeons.   On Interstate 5 at Hayden Island exit. Photographed while passenger in car, November 2, 2011, Canon Powershot 95. Click image to enlarge Scaup (species).   Lesser and/or Greater Scaup. During winter months there are thousands of Scaup along the Columbia River. This particular group photographed while passenger in car, February 5, 2012, Sony "superzoom" HX100v, along Marine Drive between I-5 and I-205, Portland, Oregon. Click image to enlarge Turkey Vulture.   Turkey Vulture seen from Interstate-84, Oregon. Image taken while passenger in car, October 6, 2011, Canon S95. HOME COLUMBIA RIVER IMAGES RIDGEFIELD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE COMPLETE BIRD LIST WILDFLOWERS BIRDS of LEWIS and CLARK

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