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| Balch creek rushing through. |
The
Audubon Society of Portland is gorgeous in the fall. Their Wildlife Care Center is where their educational birds are housed, when they are not making personal appearances, and visitors are welcome to visit with them, 9-5 7 days a week. During the day volunteers often have individual birds outside and in the lobby of their main building. They tell the bird's story and explain why it was not able to be released, as well as some fascinating things about each species. At our visit, they explained that avian botulism is still present in the water at Smith and Bybee Wetlands, despite the rain and cooler weather that was hoped to dispel the outbreak that began this summer. They said more than 3,000 dead birds have been removed from Smith Lake, and heroic volunteers at the Audubon Society have managed to save over 200 birds (at about a 70% success rate, which is really good!). We spent most of our time there exploring the trails and enjoying some fall sunshine.
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| Bird's nest fungi. |
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