In response to Jay Withgott's call for comments on the River View Natural Area, Jill and I walked all but the southern most branch of the trails that currently run through this 146 acre site.  The blue track below is a record of our travel over 3.51 miles that we covered in 1 hour and 56 minutes, with a elevation gain of 597 feet. 

We encountered a wonderful mix of avian species including a high density of woodpeckers. At one point we had 15 individual woodpeckers foraging/calling in a 360 degree circle around us.

Species observed during this visit include: HAIRY WOODPECKER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, BROWN CREEPER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, PACIFIC WREN, SONG SPARROW, WESTERN SCRUB JAY, STELLER'S JAY, and AMERICAN CROW. 

The trails are currently in rudimentary condition with numerous trip hazards, when wet weather sets in I believe the trails will also present a significant number of not easily avoidable slip-hazards.   

Public access is presently severely limited - we entered the area off Hwy 43 which is a high-speed corridor that pedestrians need to take special precaution while crossing.

OUR CONCLUSIONS;

This area has great potential to support a large number of avian species, especially when considered as an adjunct habitat to the adjacent Tryon Creek State Park.

Public access should be made available off Palatine Hill Rd. (the western most boundary). Which would give people, of all physical capabilities, access to a very large portion of this important bird area.

Kudos to everyone involved in this project so far - its just a 146 acres - but if you walk it, you'll find several life-times of effort evident in the landscape. 

As an aside, I am posting this to OBOL this evening because the website http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/riverview#sthash.XLW0SaIm.dpuf is not resolving for me as we approach the end of public comment period.