Road Trip Day 4: Portland and Columbia River Gorge

My third trip to Portland and Columbia River Gorge, and the third time in rain! But as travelers we had to make the best out of our circumstances.

The incessant rain in the Pacific Northwest probably makes people sleepy, maybe that's why there are coffee shops and doughnut shops seemingly at every corner.

(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)

Voodoo Doughnut

But first we made a trip to the famed International Rose Test Garden. Cultivated plants are not my thing, but here are a couple of obligatory pictures.

Rose

Despite the rain, we made a quick trip to the Columbia River Gorge. It really started pouring down, so much so that a lot of my pictures were ruined by the raindrops on the front element of the lens. Here are a couple of salvaged ones:

Multnomah Falls

Wahkeena Falls

But birding was superlative even in the ceaseless rain. First, I finally spotted a Swainson's Thrush, a bird whose haunting songs I had been hearing all this trip, but at last I caught a glimpse of it.

Swainson's Thrush

Second, I saw an American Dipper, a new and very special bird for me. This is a bird that builds its nest near streams and will "dip" into the rapids to catch fish. As it were, I saw this one building its nest on the rocky cliff right next to the Multnomah Falls! And I watched it dipping into the pool between the upper and lower falls to catch mouthfuls of small fish. Even though I did not get a very good pictures of it (it was very dark and the bird was far), this was a very special "catch" for me.

American Dipper

But the highlight came when I saw a few Rufous Hummingbirds feeding at a hummingbird feeder outside Multnomah Falls Lodge. This bird breeds in the northwest only and, like their many-flavored coffee and smoked salmon, is a local specialty (although, last winter, one stray female was reported near where I live, in Fairfax County, Virginia).

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Click the following links to go to Previous Day: Road Trip Day 3: Coos Bay to Portland or Next Day: Road Trip Day 5: Portland to Mt. St. Helens to Stevenson, Washington.

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