Umatilla County Bird Checklists
 		 
Checklist of the Birds of Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge
Compiled by Aaron Skirvin and Neal Hinds
Current Number of Species Sighted: 209
                                                                                  New Sightings in 2012:
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
Last Updated: 07 May 2012
 
       
   

Cold Springs NWR is one of the premier birding sites in Umatilla County. Encompassing Cold Springs Reservoir and the lands immediately surrounding the reservoir, the 3,112-acre refuge is located in northwestern Umatilla County approximately 4 miles east of Hermiston and 20 miles northwest of Pendleton. The Bureau of Reclamation manages the dam and reservoir, while the US Fish and Wildlife Service manages the wildlife and wildlife habitat. A brochure describing the refuge and containing a map is available at the refuge entrance. Visitors should pickup a brochure to find out the areas of the refuge that are open and closed to public access. 

Birding is especially good in the the fall, but spring birding is very good, too. Mudflats on the southeast side and southwest corner of the reservoir usually attract many shorebirds during the fall migration. Waterfowl concentrate on the reservoir by the thousands in the fall. Many species of songbirds use the refuge for breeding and during spring and fall migration. Habitats on the refuge include dry grassland, riparian woodland, marsh, lake, and mudflats. The wide variety of habitats, situated in the arid landscape of western Umatilla County, attracts numerous species of birds over the course of a year. The following list contains a total of 209 species of birds that have been reported from Cold Springs NWR.  

  
       
 

Report rare bird sightings to: Dave Herr, Field Note Coordinator for The Pendleton Bird Club, at  dsherr1@mac.com   
 
Greater White-fronted Goose American Avocet American Crow
Snow Goose Greater Yellowlegs Common Raven
Ross’s Goose Lesser Yellowlegs Tree Swallow
Cackling Goose Solitary Sandpiper Violet-green Swallow
Canada Goose Spotted Sandpiper Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Trumpeter Swan Whimbrel Bank Swallow
Tundra Swan Long-billed Curlew Cliff Swallow
Wood Duck Marbled Godwit Barn Swallow
Gadwall Red Knot Black-capped Chickadee
Eurasian Wigeon Sanderling Mountain Chickadee
American Wigeon Semipalmated Sandpiper Red-breasted Nuthatch
Mallard Western Sandpiper Brown Creeper
Blue-winged Teal Least Sandpiper Rock Wren
Cinnamon Teal Baird’s Sandpiper Bewick’s Wren
Northern Shoveler Pectoral Sandpiper House Wren
Northern Pintail Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Winter Wren
Green-winged Teal Dunlin Marsh Wren
Canvasback Stilt Sandpiper Golden-crowned Kinglet
Redhead Ruff Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Surf Scoter Short-billed Dowitcher Mountain Bluebird
Ring-necked Duck Long-billed Dowitcher Western Bluebird
Lesser Scaup Wilson's Snipe Townsend’s Solitaire
Bufflehead Wilson’s Phalarope Swainson's Thrush
Common Goldeneye Red-necked Phalarope Hermit Thrush
Common Merganser Franklin’s Gull American Robin
Ruddy Duck Bonaparte’s Gull Varied Thrush
Hooded Merganser Mew Gull Sage Thrasher
Ring-necked Pheasant Ring-billed Gull European Starling
California Quail California Gull American Pipit
Common Loon Herring Gull Cedar Waxwing
Pied-billed Grebe Glaucous-winged Gull Orange-crowned Warbler
 Horned Grebe Sabine’s Gull Nashville Warbler
Eared Grebe Caspian Tern Yellow Warbler
Red-necked Grebe Common Tern Magnolia Warbler
Western Grebe Forster’s Tern Yellow-rumped Warbler
Clark’s Grebe Black Tern Black-throated Gray Warbler
American White Pelican Rock Pigeon Townsend’s Warbler
Double-crested Cormorant White-winged Dove Black-and-white Warbler
American Bittern Mourning Dove Common Yellowthroat
Snowy Egret Barn Owl MacGillivray’s Warbler
Great Blue Heron Western Screech-Owl Wilson's Warbler
Great Egret Great Horned Owl Yellow-breasted Chat
Green Heron Long-eared Owl Western Tanager
Black-crowned Night-Heron Short-eared Owl Spotted Towhee
White-faced Ibis Northern Pygmy-Owl Brewer's Sparrow
Turkey Vulture Northern Saw-whet Owl American Tree Sparrow
Osprey Common Nighthawk Lark Sparrow
Bald Eagle Black-chinned Hummingbird Savannah Sparrow
Northern Harrier Rufous Hummingbird Fox Sparrow
Sharp-shinned Hawk Belted Kingfisher Song Sparrow
Cooper’s Hawk Williamson’s Sapsucker Lincoln’s Sparrow
Northern Goshawk Red-naped Sapsucker White-throated Sparrow
Swainson’s Hawk Lewis's Woodpecker Harris’s Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk Downy Woodpecker White-crowned Sparrow
Rough-legged Hawk Hairy Woodpecker Golden-crowned Sparrow
Golden Eagle Northern Flicker Dark-eyed Junco
American Kestrel Olive-sided Flycatcher Black-headed Grosbeak
Merlin Western Wood-Pewee Lazuli Bunting
Peregrine Falcon Least Flycatcher Red-winged Blackbird
Prairie Falcon Hammond’s Flycatcher Western Meadowlark
Virginia Rail Western Flycatcher Brewer’s Blackbird
Sora Black Phoebe Yellow-headed Blackbird
American Coot Western Kingbird Great-tailed Grackle
Sandhill Crane Eastern Kingbird Brown-headed Cowbird
Black-bellied Plover Northern Shrike Bullock's Oriole
American Golden-Plover Cassin’s Vireo House Finch
Pacific Golden-Plover Warbling Vireo  Red Crossbill
Semipalmated Plover Clark’s Nutcracker Pine Siskin
Killdeer Black-billed Magpie American Goldfinch
Black-necked Stilt   House Sparrow