


Top 20 Most Common Bird in Hood River
Brimming with a remarkable variety of bird species, Hood River showcases a cornucopia of avian life. Pivotal habitats, ranging from dense coniferous forests to riparian zones along the 20 rivers, hosts these unique and diverse species. Key icons such as the bald eagle, osprey, and various warblers frequent this area. This brief canvases a captivating snapshot of the region's birdlife without delving into overly intricate details.

Most Common Bird

1. California Scrub-jay
California Scrub-jays prefer to live in dry shrublands, oak forests, and treed backyards. These are mischievous little birds that like to steal acorns from Woodpecker hiding spots. However, when the scrub jays hide the acorns in a new spot they rarely remember where they've hidden them! It's a lose-lose situation. When not stealing acorns they like to spend time eating ticks and other parasites off the backs of mule deer. The deer seem to appreciate the attention and often hold up their ears to give the jays access.

2. American Crow
The american Crow is a big black bird that can be found in forests, fields, river groves, and among human habitations. Interestingly, it is known to stand atop ant hills and allow ants to climb onto its feathers; this apparently discharges their formic acid and makes them more palatable for the crow to eat. Sadly, american Crow numbers have been substantially affected by the West Nile virus in North America. Infected birds die from West Nile in less than a week.

3. Northern Flicker
In the search of its favorite food—ants—the northern Flicker often forages leaf litter and tree bark, which makes it the only ground forager in the woodpecker group. It's a migratory species, which is quite a rare behavior for woodpeckers, as well. The northern Flicker has an eastern (yellow-shafted) and a western (red-shafted) form. It lays a large number of eggs - the known record is 71 eggs in 73 days.

4. European Starling
The european Starling, a large, hardy songbird, is one of the most commonly seen bird species in North America. Originally from Europe, this species was brought to the U.S. in the 1890s by enthusiasts of William Shakespeare, who had the unique goal of bringing over every single species of bird that was mentioned in Shakespeare's collective works. Unfortunately, the european Starling, being an adaptable, generalist species, spread invasively across the continent, hurting many native species' populations in the process.

5. Mallard
The mallard is the most abundant duck species in the world, and the ancestor of all domestic ducks. Only the female can produce the distinctive "quack" sound. When the female lays eggs, the male abandons its mate, while the protective mother stays with the ducklings for a long time. This migratory species inhabits shallow waters and it's one of the most popular game birds.

6. Canada Goose
Though this large, widespread bird is mainly known for its aggressively territorial nature, often shown by spitting, chasing, honking, or attacking, the canada Goose does have more loving traits. They mate for life, and this species is one of the birds that has minimal “divorce rates.” Interestingly, they choose mates by size, so smaller geese will mate with other small geese, and larger geese with other large geese.

7. Steller's Jay
Steller's Jays are loud, large jays that live mostly in evergreen forests. Their "song" is a horrible screeching call, but they are also great mimics that can copy the sounds of other birds, dogs, cats, chickens, etc. Notorious nest-robbers, they are well-known for attacking and killing small adult birds, nestlings, and taking off with other birds' eggs.

8. Dark-eyed Junco
One of the most common birds of North America, the dark-eyed Junco lives in flocks in open forests, but it's very common in urban areas. This a highly variable species consists of at least five subspecies. This ground bird is often seen during winter, so it's sometimes called the "Snowbird," although it shares the nickname with the Snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis).

9. Song Sparrow
The song Sparrow can be found low to the ground in vegetation and thickets in nearly all habitat conditions, including suburban areas. They are frequent visitors to home birdfeeders but can also be seen foraging for food on the ground. Their appearance can differ across the 24 known subspecies, but all of them tend to only make short, fluttery flights.

10. Black-capped Chickadee
This small songbird is the most common garden bird in Canada and the northern USA, and also one of the most scientifically studied birds in the world. Able to produce more than 15 complex sounds, the black-capped Chickadee can easily confuse predators with its calls. It's a clever, skillful, and adaptable bird—it can retrieve hidden food after a month and it's able to fly even when its body temperature drops.

11. American Robin
The american Robin is the most common, and largest, thrush in North America. It's a bird of striking colors, including its vibrant, red-breasted plumage and pale blue eggs. It likes to feed on summer fruit and berries, but worms play an important role in its diet as well. This songbird is a state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Its cheery song is considered one of the first signs of spring.

12. Turkey Vulture
The turkey Vulture is a common sight, especially around roads, where they keep a sharp eye out for roadkill. Seeing these large birds in the sky can often make you take a second look to see if it’s an eagle or a hawk. Here’s one quick way to tell the difference. When in flight, a turkey Vulture will circle unsteadily, with its wings lifted to make a V shape. Though they are not appreciated, they do the dirty work of the animal kingdom by cleaning up the countryside as they scavenge.

13. Common Raven
The common Raven is one of the most ubiquitous species of birds and is revered for its high intelligence. These birds prefer open habitats, but can be found in nearly all environmental conditions besides rainforests. As a social species, some subspecies of common Raven have been known to have 15 to 33 different categories of calls!

14. Spotted Towhee
The spotted Towhee is a large sparrow found in sunny, open forests and recognizable by its distinctive two-footed hop. A ground dweller, it scratches the ground in search of food. Regarded as an extremely vocal bird, its song varies according to geographical location. During the breeding season, the male spends more than 70% of its mornings singing, trying to attract the female.

15. California Gull
Adults are similar in appearance to the herring gull, but have a smaller yellow bill with a black ring, yellow legs, brown eyes and a more rounded head. The body is mainly white with grey back and upper wings. They have black primaries with white tips. Immature birds are also similar in appearance to immature herring gulls, with browner plumage than immature ring-billed gulls. Length can range from 46 to 55 cm (18 to 22 in), the wingspan 122–137 cm (48–54 in) and body mass can vary from 430 to 1,045 g (0.948 to 2.304 lb).


16. Killdeer
This shorebird is slender and lanky, with long wings and a long tail that ends at a point. If its nest is being threatened by a predator, the killdeer is known to pretend that it has a broken wing, making itself a target in order to lure the predator away from the nest. They have the curious habit of collecting mostly light colored items to build their nests.

17. Double-crested Cormorant
This large, dinosaur-like bird is the most common form of cormorant. A frequent visitor to bodies of fresh water, look out for double-crested Cormorants at the water's edge when they “wing-spread”. They will stand with their wings opened wide and tilted towards the sun to dry their feathers, because they are not waterproof.

18. Ring-billed Gull
The ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull and the most widespread gull of North America. Extremely well-adapted to humans, these omnivorous birds can be regularly seen in parking lots and garbage dumps, feeding on a wide range of foods. They are agile flyers, able to pick up food mid-flight. Many of them return to breed in the colony where they were born.

19. American Coot
The american Coot is easily mistaken for a species of duck but does not have webbed feet and does not have a waddling gait. They can be found in and around ponds and lakes and frequently dive under the surface to feed on algae and other vegetation. These birds can live to be 22 years old!

20. Great Blue Heron
The great Blue Heron, the largest such bird in North America, is quite adaptable and thrives in various wet habitats. Silent, patient, and often motionless, this majestic bird always makes a spectacular sight. Thanks to its specially shaped neck and extremely good night vision, this wading bird is a quick and skilled fish predator. Since the great Blue Heron accumulates toxins in its body, researchers use it as an indicator of dangerous contaminants in local wetlands.