Birding in Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, Canada

Just returned from a 10-day road trip east to Wyoming, north through Montana and western Alberta, Canada, and back south through British Columbia and Washington. We recorded about 110 species of birds observed along the way, as we enjoyed the spectacular scenery of several national parks, and numerous dramatic mountain ranges.

In eastern Oregon, before crossing the Snake River into Idaho near the dam at Brownlee, among many other species, we saw...

White Pelicans

Lark Sparrow

Horned Lark

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Brownlee Reservoir

Then at a cousin's home in Jackson, Wyoming, we enjoyed closeup views at the bird feeders:

Black-headed Grosbeak female

Cassin's Finch

Downy Woodpecker

Then heading north through Teton National Park...

Osprey

Lincoln's Sparrow along Lewis River

Common Mergansers fishing in a tributary of the Snake River.

In Montana we spent a day in Glacier National Park where this Ruffed Grouse reluctantly allowed us to pass.

And this Gray Catbird serenaded us at sunset in the campground at St. Mary Lake.

St. Mary Lake, Glacier National Park

Farther north this Tennessee Warbler was singing energetically and endlessly in a picnic area along the road in Banff National Park, Alberta.

At Lake Louise a black and yellow wasp became a snack for a Clark's Nutcracker.

Lake Louise, Alberta

Returning south through British Columbia our route took us onto a ferry across Arrow Lake, one of many reservoirs along the course of the Columbia River. There were several pairs of Barn Swallows nesting on the boat, which meant they had to travel back and forth across the three-mile width of the lake several times a day, just to stay close to their nests.

A large ferry in the distance

A Barn Swallow nest on the ferry