: Quentin Furrow / Eugene, Cascades & Coast

Oregon Birding for Beginners

Here's how to find your flock, or enjoy birding as part of your nature therapy.
Blue Chalk Media,  Photographer
September 15, 2020 (Updated February 15, 2023)

No matter what the season in Oregon, going outside to enjoy nature and the fresh air is more essential than ever. In recent years, many have taken up the meditative, educational and inclusive hobby known as birding, especially during the fall and winter months. “[Birding] is for everybody,” says Gregory Smith, a field biologist and former Audubon member who now leads birding trips for the Portland nonprofit Wild Diversity. “It’s really easy to get into because birds are absolutely everywhere.” 

Birding, or bird-watching, is a solo or group activity of regularly observing and identifying species of birds, including their migration patterns and behavior. You can spot them with your naked eye, but it’s even more enthralling if you can use binoculars or a telescope.

“You can get into it in your backyard and not have to travel very far,” says Smith, who’s studied birds all across Oregon in his work. “It can be exactly what you want it to be. It can be watching a robin for 20 minutes and doing nothing else. Or it can be going out and eBirding and making sure you get all the species you can get at a certain place. It doesn’t have to be this intense thing; it doesn’t have to be this competitive thing. It can be this really relaxing pastime or hobby.”

Find Your Starter Bird

In the Portland area, spots like Mt. Tabor Park, Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, Whitaker Ponds Natural Area and Kelley Point Park offer lots to see: great blue heron, black-capped chickadees, spotted towhee, sandhill cranes and more. Minutes outside of Portland, birders flock to the important habitats and trail systems at Salish Ponds Wetland Park to the east in Fairview, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve to the west in Hillsboro, and Coffee Lake Wetlands to the south in Wilsonville. 

Elsewhere in the state, experienced wildlife watchers know that the Oregon Coast is full of fascinating seabirds (visit any of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuges), and that Southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin and Eastern Oregon’s Harney County are part of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. Many Oregonians can even observe an array of birds from their residence, nearest park and beyond. Often it takes a “spark” or “starter” type of bird or species to get someone interested in birding.

Sam DeJarnett, who works at a vet clinic in Portland, has been birding for several years now. Her starter bird was a red-tailed hawk, for which she has an image of the bird’s skull tattooed on her body. DeJarnett’s passion for animals started with work with dogs in shelters, but after completing an internship in wildlife rehabilitation in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, she ended up falling in love with birds: “Being able to see them that close and see a bald eagle’s beak that close to your face is really, really cool.”

Portland birder Sam DeJarnett recently launched her podcast, “Always Be Birdin’”, now available on Spotify and iTunes, and has begun broadcasting her birding trips on Instagram to encourage newbies to get outside and explore.

After moving to Portland, DeJarnett began volunteering at Portland Audubon, which led to her being hired as their education bird trainer. Naturally, she started going birding with her coworkers. “I think there’s this misconception about birding — especially when it’s called bird-watching — that it’s like some older folks sitting on a park bench and just watching birds. It sounds really boring, and it’s not,” DeJarnett says. “[It’s] actually super active, and you’re going to all these really cool places. There’s a lot of sitting and waiting, and watching as well — which I actually really enjoy, too, because it’s really peaceful in those moments.”

DeJarnett, who often goes birding at least once a week, says a past visit to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns gave her an opportunity to observe some burrowing owls, including six babies. “It was the coolest thing ever. They live in burrows in the ground,” she explains. “Yeah, owls! They’re cool. They’re really fun.”

In the Portland Region, head out to birding hot spots such as Mt. Tabor Park, Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, Whitaker Ponds Natural Area and Kelley Point Park.

 

Birders say the activity helps them look up, down and all around, and to see the world in new perspectives.
A bird’s favorite habitat is by water, which is a soothing, healing force for people, too.

Since 2021 DeJarnett has been on a mission to get people like herself interested in birding. She launched a birding podcast, “Always Be Birdin’”, available on Spotify and iTunes, and she also shares her broadcasts on Instagram. “People think it’s really funny,” she says. “They’re like, ‘Sam, I want to go birding with you. I’ve never done it before, but you make it look so fun.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, because it is fun. I would love to take you birding.’” 

DeJarnett recommends that every new birder establish a mentor who’ll help you navigate the natural area and show you how to properly use binoculars. Pro tip: Land your eyes on that bird and bring the binoculars up to meet your eyes.

Portland wildlife biologist Greg Smith helps lead birding walks for groups like Wild Diversity, which attract a broad range of demographics. 

Finding Safety for Everyone

While birding is a relatively accessible hobby in general, some may find it challenging to get into, due to barriers like limited access to equipment and natural areas nearby. It can also be perceived as an activity for a select demographic. 

Another barrier, specifically for those in BIPOC communities, has to do with feeling unsafe in outdoor spaces at a time when incidents of targeted racial violence appear to be gaining prevalence in the U.S. “It’s going to be people of color; it’s going to be specifically Black people” who don’t feel safe outdoors, DeJarnett says. “Especially in Oregon, I think what happens to make it an even more unsafe feeling is that there isn’t representation out there.” 

She adds: “What I personally am aiming to do as a Black woman birder — which is just many subcategories that don’t mix together out here — is to be that representation.

 

Binoculars helpful, but not required. Download a birding app, order a guide or join a group of like-minded enthusiasts to get started.
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Breaking Down Barriers 

Keia Booker has worked at Portland Audubon on diversity and equity initiatives. She says no matter who you are, finding a group or a buddy to go with can make embarking on this hobby feel less daunting and more fun. She recalls how her father had sent her his old chunky, 10-pound, military-style binoculars for birding. ‘“The difference between looking through those and looking through some of the [binoculars] that Audubon sells and other options people have —  it’s like night and day in terms of my excitement level,” she says. “You can see the intricacies of the birds — and not just kind of getting a feel for them in general, but you can get super into it.”

Booker is also a member of EPOC (Environmental Professionals of Color) and goes on birding outings with Wild Diversity, a nonprofit that acknowledges Indigenous people such as the Clackamas, Chinook and Cowlitz tribes as well as Black people as the original stewards and cultivators of this land. The group aims to decolonize outdoor spaces by supporting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folk in reconnecting to nature, outdoor adventures and education. Thanks to Booker’s referral, both Smith and DeJarnett often lead birding walks for Wild Diversity that attract groups representing a broad range of demographics. 

One of Booker’s fondest birding memories was on a group outing to Sauvie Island, where they saw a merlin (a small species of falcon) scoop up its prey — a red-winged blackbird — from 10 to 15 feet away. “It’s amazing to think about how I always used to walk looking down at my feet,” Booker says. “I loved the different view I got when I started birding. I had only seen crows and pigeons before. Now I see goldfinches and all these other birds. It’s literally changed my perspective.”

Wherever you are in Oregon, head to your local park, look out your window or just look up (safely) when you're hiking, paddling or enjoying time in your favorite nature space.

If You Go:

Join the birding community. Attend a beginner-friendly workshop, guided hike, birding trip or other event with Wild Diversity or at the Portland Audubon or your closest Audubon center. 

Choose your birding guide. Order a handy field guide like the Handbook of Oregon Birds, or download a bird-watching app like eBird, The Warbler Guide or Chirp Birding a social network for birders.

Start nerding out. For the wildlife report about birds and other wildlife activity, visit the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife bird-watching page or Oregon Birding Trails — a one-stop resource for up-to-date information, maps and more.

About The
Author

Jenni Moore
Jenni Moore is a freelance writer, editor and photographer based in Portland. She covers locally relevant music, arts, entertainment, food and tourism for a variety of regional publications. In her spare time, Moore enjoys live music, travel and being in nature with her dog.

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