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.

Swallow
Tree Swallow

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.

Eagle 2
Bald Eagle

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

  1. American coot
  2. American crow
  3. American dipper
  4. American goldfinch
  5. American kestral
  6. American robin
  7. American white pelican
  8. American widgeon
  9. Audubon’s warbler
  10. Bald eagle
  11. Bank swallow
  12. Barn swallow
  13. Barrow’s Goldeneye
  14. Belted kingfisher
  15. Black-billed magpie
  16. Black-capped chickadee
  17. Black-headed grosbeak
  18. Black-necked stilt
  19. Blue jay
  20. Blue-winged teal
  21. Bobolink
  22. Brewer’s blackbird
  23. Brewer’s sparrow
  24. Brown-headed cowbird
  25. Bullocks oriole
  26. California gull
  27. Calliope hummingbird
  28. Canada goose
  29. Cassin’s finch
  30. Cedar waxwing
  31. Chipping sparrow
  32. Cinnamon teal
  33. Cliff swallow
  34. Common goldeneye
  35. Common grackle
  36. Common merganser
  37. Common nighthawk
  38. Common raven
  39. Common redpoll
  40. Common yellowthroat
  41. Cooper’s hawk
  42. Cordilleran flycatcher
  43. Downey woodpecker
  44. Dusky flycatcher
  45. Eastern kingbird
  46. Eurasian-collared Dove
  47. European starling
  48. Evening grosbeak
  49. Gadwall
  50. Golden eagle
  51. Gray catbird
  52. Gray partridge (huns)
  53. Great blue heron
  54. Great horned owl
  55. Greater yellowlegs
  56. Green-winged teal
  57. Hairy woodpecker
  58. Hermit thrush
  59. Hooded merganser
  60. Horned lark
  61. House finch
  62. House wren
  63. Killdeer
  64. Lazuli bunting
  65. Least flycatcher
  66. Lewis’s woodpecker
  67. Lincoln’s sparrow
  68. Long-billed curlew
  69. Long-billed dowitcher
  70. Long-eared owl
  71. MacGillivray’s warbler
  72. Magpie
  73. Mallard
  74. Marsh wren
  75. Merlin
  76. Mountain bluebird
  77. Mountain chickadee
  78. Mourning dove
  79. Northern flicker
  80. Northern goshawk
  81. Northern harrier
  82. Northern pintail
  83. Northern rough-winged swallow
  84. Northern saw-whet owl
  85. Northern shoveler
  86. Northern shrike
  87. Olive-sided flycatcher
  88. Orange-crowned warbler
  89. Oregon Junco
  90. Osprey
  91. Pied-billed grebe
  92. Pine siskin
  93. Red-naped sapsucker
  94. Red-tailed hawk
  95. Red-winged blackbird
  96. Ring-necked pheasant
  97. Rock pigeon
  98. Rough-legged hawk
  99. Ruby crowned kinglet
  100. Sandhill crane
  101. Savannah sparrow
  102. Snow goose
  103. Solitary sandpiper
  104. Song sparrow
  105. Sora
  106. Spotted sandpiper
  107. Swainson’s hawk
  108. Swainson’s thrush
  109. Townsend solitaire
  110. Tree swallow
  111. Trumpeter swan
  112. Tundra swan
  113. Turkey vulture
  114. Veery
  115. Vesper’s sparrow
  116. Violet green swallow
  117. Virginia rail
  118. Warbling vireo
  119. Western bluebird
  120. Western kingbird
  121. Western meadowlark
  122. Western tanager
  123. Western wood-pewee
  124. White-crowned sparrow
  125. White-faced Ibis
  126. Wild turkey
  127. Willow flycatcher
  128. Wilson’s phalarope
  129. Wilson’s snipe
  130. Wilson’s warbler
  131. Yellow-rumped warbler
  132. Yellow warbler
  133. 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.