Birding

Birding On Woodson Ranch

Sandhill Cranes, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Cinnamon Teal, Kildeer, Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles…these are just a few of the birds that come to enjoy the habitat created by Woodson Ranch. The diverse waterways, woodsy areas, marshy fens and open pastures provide ample food and cover for over 100 documented species of birds.

We welcome visitors to come and spot species of interest, or just to walk and view the amazing diversity. We have designated the West side of the river as a walking & hiking area for bird and wildlife watchers. Contact us to get a Permissive Use Document allowing you to have access. We simply keep the document on file so we have a record of who is coming and going on the ranch. Note that the ranch is not open during the big-game hunting season for safety reasons.

If you are unable to visit the ranch but want to experience some of the birding opportunities we have available, we invite you to listen to this recording. This recording was made in April of 2015 next to one of our wetlands at precisely 5 in the morning. The striking diversity of squawks, honks, twitters and tweets is so thick with the sounds of multiple species that it is difficult to parse out the number of types of birds on the recording.

So check out our list of birds confirmed on the property, and help us get a complete list. Or, better yet, come and visit; watch and listen. Stay in our fully-furnished ON-SITE Lodging. We think you’ll be amazed at the variety and quantity of birds who call Woodson Ranch home at various times of the year.

OUR GROWING LIST OF BIRDS SEEN ON THE RANCH

American coot
American crow
American dipper
American goldfinch
American kestral
American robin
American white pelican
American widgeon
Audubon’s warbler
Bald eagle
Bank swallow
Barn swallow
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Belted kingfisher
Black-billed magpie
Black-capped chickadee
Black-headed grosbeak
Black-necked stilt
Blue jay
Blue-winged teal
Bobolink
Brewer’s blackbird
Brewer’s sparrow
Brown-headed cowbird
Bullocks oriole
California gull
Calliope hummingbird
Canada goose
Cassin’s finch
Cedar waxwing
Chipping sparrow
Cinnamon teal
Cliff swallow
Common goldeneye
Common grackle
Common merganser
Common nighthawk
Common raven
Common redpoll
Common yellowthroat
Cooper’s hawk
Cordilleran flycatcher
Cormorant
Downey woodpecker
Dusky flycatcher
Dusky grouse
Eastern kingbird
Eurasian-collared Dove
European starling
Evening grosbeak
Gadwall
Golden eagle
Gray catbird
Gray partridge (huns)
Great blue heron
Great horned owl
Greater yellowlegs
Green-winged teal
Hairy woodpecker
Hermit thrush
Hooded merganser
Horned lark
House finch
House wren
Killdeer
Lazuli bunting
Least flycatcher
Lewis’s woodpecker
Lincoln’s sparrow
Long-billed curlew
Long-billed dowitcher
Long-eared owl
MacGillivray’s warbler
Magpie
Mallard
Marsh wren
Merlin
Mountain bluebird
Mountain chickadee
Mourning dove
Northern flicker
Northern goshawk
Northern harrier
Northern pintail
Northern rough-winged swallow
Northern saw-whet owl
Northern shoveler
Northern shrike
Olive-sided flycatcher
Orange-crowned warbler
Oregon Junco
Osprey
Pied-billed grebe
Pine siskin
Red-naped sapsucker
Red-tailed hawk
Red-winged blackbird
Ring-necked pheasant
Rock pigeon
Rough-legged hawk
Ruby crowned kinglet
Sandhill crane
Savannah sparrow
Short-eared owl
Snow goose
Solitary sandpiper
Song sparrow
Sora
Spotted sandpiper
Swainson’s hawk
Swainson’s thrush
Townsend solitaire
Tree swallow
Trumpeter swan
Tundra swan
Turkey vulture
Veery
Vesper’s sparrow
Violet green swallow
Virginia rail
Warbling vireo
Western bluebird
Western kingbird
Western meadowlark
Western tanager
Western wood-pewee
White-crowned sparrow
White-faced Ibis
Wild turkey
Willow flycatcher
Wilson’s phalarope
Wilson’s snipe
Wilson’s warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Yellow warbler
Yellow-headed blackbird

Come out and help us identify more! You could stay at our Hill House, a fully furnished home available for rent right on the ranch.