Feyrer County Park, located a few miles s.e. of Molalla, Oregon, is a great place to keep cool in the summer.  The trail leading s. (up river) from the park offers multiple access points to the Molalla River, and the riparian habitat I am sure supports many more species of birds than we were able to find on our first visit to this area.

The cool temperatures along the forest floor more than made up for the low number of avifauna found during our lazy two and a half hour walk along the river.

Although we only identified a mere 10 species - and of those we had nice looks at just three - we still recommend this park as a birding destination.

Our biggest surprise of the day came during our drive home from the park when we located a young pair of American Kestrel atop a fir tree next to a strip mall.  Jill opted for the frozen yogurt while I exercised the camera.  According to The Birds of North America - Online, the behavior we observed (perching close together, allopreening and nibbling at each other's bill or lore area) is common during the first 2 weeks after fledging.  It was fun to watch these two birds interact with each other and the adult female that was tending to them.  

The pictures below are presented in chronological order.  

The trail leading up-river:

Cedar Waxwing (a first summer bird - note lack of red waxy tips on the wings):

Riverside trail (5 frames) - we warned you about the low number of birds seen:

Two young American Kestrel - an uncommon sighting (for us) of an otherwise commonly ocurring species:

We hope you enjoyed the show as much as we did!