Audubon Birding Day: Wildflowers at Catherine Creek & Deschutes River

This is a self-driving day trip. We will meet at 8 a.m. at Catherine Creek, which is approximately a one-hour and twenty-minute drive from Portland. Bring lunch and dress for the weather. We will meet at 8 a.m. at the Catherine Creek trailhead (45.7105, -121.3621).

The wildflowers of Catherine Creek are magnificent at this time of year! We’ll be looking for Yellow Fritillary, Oneflower Broomrape, Nuttall’s Larkspur, Pacific Hound’s Tongue, Checker and Glacier Lily, Poet’s Shooting Star, and a variety of saxifrages and lomatiums. Although this is not primarily a birding trip, we may find Western Bluebird, Lewis’s, and Acorn Woodpecker, among others.

After Catherine Creek, we will drive an hour (a little more if the Dalles Bridge is closed) to the Deschutes River downstream from Sherar’s Bridge and check the wildflowers there. This early date is also great for the small Sheridan’s Green Hairstreak, which should be out in full force, weather permitting.