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: 208
                                                                                  New Sightings in 2012:
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
Last Updated: 03 January 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 208 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
Western Grebe Common Tern Magnolia Warbler
Clark’s Grebe Forster’s Tern Yellow-rumped Warbler
American White Pelican Black Tern Black-throated Gray Warbler
Double-crested Cormorant Rock Pigeon Townsend’s Warbler
American Bittern White-winged Dove Black-and-white Warbler
Snowy Egret Mourning Dove Common Yellowthroat
Great Blue Heron Barn Owl MacGillivray’s Warbler
Great Egret Western Screech-Owl Wilson's Warbler
Green Heron Great Horned Owl Yellow-breasted Chat
Black-crowned Night-Heron Long-eared Owl Western Tanager
White-faced Ibis Short-eared Owl Spotted Towhee
Turkey Vulture Northern Pygmy-Owl Brewer's Sparrow
Osprey Northern Saw-whet Owl American Tree Sparrow
Bald Eagle Common Nighthawk Lark Sparrow
Northern Harrier Black-chinned Hummingbird Savannah Sparrow
Sharp-shinned Hawk Rufous Hummingbird Fox Sparrow
Cooper’s Hawk Belted Kingfisher Song Sparrow
Northern Goshawk Williamson’s Sapsucker Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swainson’s Hawk Red-naped Sapsucker White-throated Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk Lewis's Woodpecker Harris’s Sparrow
Rough-legged Hawk Downy Woodpecker White-crowned Sparrow
Golden Eagle Hairy Woodpecker Golden-crowned Sparrow
American Kestrel Northern Flicker Dark-eyed Junco
Merlin Olive-sided Flycatcher Black-headed Grosbeak
Peregrine Falcon Western Wood-Pewee Lazuli Bunting
Prairie Falcon Least Flycatcher Red-winged Blackbird
Virginia Rail Hammond’s Flycatcher Western Meadowlark
Sora Western Flycatcher Brewer’s Blackbird
American Coot Black Phoebe Yellow-headed Blackbird
Sandhill Crane Western Kingbird Great-tailed Grackle
Black-bellied Plover Eastern Kingbird Brown-headed Cowbird
American Golden-Plover Northern Shrike Bullock's Oriole
Pacific Golden-Plover Cassin’s Vireo House Finch
Semipalmated Plover Warbling Vireo  Red Crossbill
Killdeer Clark’s Nutcracker Pine Siskin
Black-necked Stilt Black-billed Magpie American Goldfinch
    House Sparrow