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| Canada geese. |
Fernhill Wetlands is one of Jasper's favorite places. It's actually part of a wastewater treatment plant's system of cooling and adding oxygen to water after it leaves the treatment plant, and before it enters the Tualatin River. (Another similar system can be found in the city of Silverton, Oregon where the water treatment system runs through the
Oregon Garden.) They've been doing a lot of construction there to improve the system, adding smaller ponds and waterfalls, and planting trees and native plants. The lakes are a big magnet for waterfowl. You cannot go there and fail to see something beautiful. It's very popular with local birders, and with families wanting to see these gorgeous birds up close. Here is a bird checklist for Fernhill Wetlands, which details which birds have been found here, how likely you are to see them, and when:
http://www.cleanwaterservices.org/Content/Fernhill/Fernhill%20Bird%20List.pdf On our most recent visit, one pond was full of more Canada geese than we had ever seen gathered together.
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| Photo by Jasper. |
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| A pair of killdeer. |
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| Great blue heron. |
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| Canada geese. |
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| Female northern shoveler. |
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| Female red-winged blackbird. |
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| There were clusters of Northern shovelers in the lake, filter feeding together and circling around as if they were rubber ducks after the stopper is pulled in a bathtub. |
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| Northern shovelers. |
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| We watched this egret fly across the lake. |
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| Great blue heron. |
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| Great blue heron. |
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| Male Northern shoveler. |
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| Chicory. |
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| Rose hips. |
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| Great blue heron. |
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