Feathered adventures: Birding in Bend’s parks

Published 3:30 am Friday, September 17, 2021

One of my favorite ways to get away from life’s busyness is to experience nature and simply be present and observe while on a birding outing.

Birding, or birdwatching, takes my mind off the collection of topics that infiltrate my day — work, home, the news, you know the stuff — and gives me time and space immersed in nature. Since birding doesn’t take a lot of gear or knowledge to start, it is a great nature-based activity for just about anyone, and can be an inspiration for outdoor adventures any time of year. I invite anyone to give it a try.

For basic birding, it’s about getting outside and taking in the variety of birds that are here in Central Oregon, whether they are just passing through during fall and spring migration or making their home year-round. With Bend’s diverse natural settings, over 200 species of birds may be spotted here, and you can expect to see birds of prey, songbirds, woodpeckers, waterfowl and more.

Every Bend park and trail has birds so you can easily try birding at a nearby park, but the best birding spots tend to feature water and a variety of trees and shrubs.

Equipment

The only thing you really need to do is dress for the weather — that’s it. After that, it’s optional but helpful to bring a mobile phone or camera, a pair of binoculars and a notepad. You may want to capture photos, record bird calls or make notes of your observed birds, and a camera and binoculars can be used to zoom in for a closer view.

Birding information resources

Connecting with information resources to support your outings can be really helpful. My favorites are the “National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Bird — Western Region” book, the eBird website and mobile app and the Merlin ID mobile app.

The book is a classic old-school guide with colorful photos, maps, species details and a vinyl cover that can handle a rain drop or two. My guide is well-worn — I’ve had it for over 30 years.

Some cool, more techie birding resources that I really like are the free website and mobile apps from Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology.

Available via website and app, eBird is a web-based collection of 100 million-plus annual bird sightings around the globe. For local information, you can view the best birding places or “hotspots” in Deschutes County, see a list of recently observed birds or search by the month to learn what birds are present during a particular season. Should you have an interest in birding regularly, eBird also features personal accounts to record your sightings and contribute your data to one of the world’s largest citizen science projects along with hundreds of thousands of other users.

Great for those “What’s that bird?” moments, Merlin ID is an easy-to-use bird identifier mobile app featuring photos and bird calls of more than 8,000 species. For both eBird and Merlin ID, visit eBird.org to learn more.

How and where to go birding in Bend

Birding can be active or less so, alone or with others — it’s up to you. Walk, hike or roll along a trail or path and keep an eye and ear out for birds, or find a good observation spot and just watch and listen for a while. As you observe, make note of characteristics such as size, wing shape, colors and behaviors including calls.

I enjoy the convenience of taking photos with my phone and then referencing my field guide or Merlin ID. Recently, I saw an unusually bright, tropical-colored yellow, red and black bird popping from tree branch to tree branch while I was hiking at Shevlin Park. I quickly captured some photos and upon my return home used Merlin ID to discover I’d seen a male western tanager, a first for me.

To start birding locally, here are some Bend parks to visit, with the number of eBird’s annually observed species in the park, birds you can expect to see this fall and the natural settings featured at each park. Happy birding!

Shevlin Park: 18920 NW Shevlin Park Road

• Spotted: 159 species, including golden eagle, lewis’s woodpecker and western bluebird

• Setting: forest, creek and open space with sage and bitterbrush

Pine Nursery Park: 3750 NE Purcell Blvd.

• Spotted: 92 species, including downy woodpecker, American kestrel and black-billed magpie

Setting: forest, open space with sage, bitterbrush and pond

Sawyer Park: 62999 O.B. Riley Road

• Spotted: 169 species, including lesser goldfinch, violet-green swallow, cooper’s hawk and great blue heron

• Setting: forest, river and rock cliffs

First Street Rapids Park including Deschutes River Trail: 1980 NW First Street

• Spotted: 156 species, including trumpeter swan, osprey, northern flicker and cedar waxwing

• Setting: riparian, river and rock cliffs

Farewell Park including Deschutes River Trail’s South Canyon: 1000 SW Reed Market Road

• Spotted: 133 species, including green-winged teal, anna’s hummingbird, greater white-fronted goose and peregrine falcon

• Setting: river, riparian, rock cliffs, forest

Resources

BPRD Website: bendparksandrec.org

Park and trail maps available online or at BPRD facilities

eBird website: ebird.org

eBird and Merlin ID mobile apps: free at Apple App Store and Google Play

East Cascades Audubon Society: ecaudubon.com