So I ended my last post about Horsetail Falls with a sneaky snake snaking under the log. Here is a video of that snake – the Common Gartersnake. (Thamnophis sirtalis)

Sadly he slithered right into the hole where the first salamander I had been hunting was. Hopefully the salamander did get away, and wasn’t just hiding. 😦

And that’s really the end of Horsetail Falls.

The next day, before going home I stopped by the Portland Zoo! I know zoos are kind of cheating as far as wildlife photography goes but I’ll share some of the snaps I got.

First a majestic freedom bird. Then some lovely, playful otters. At the end of the video you can see them all snuggled in their den when I revisit them 45 minutes later.

 Otters are my absolute favorite. I think once I find an adult salamander, finding wild river otters will be my next goal.

Even though I didn’t get to see one in the wild I got a brief glimpse of a Rough Skinned Newt, swimming about his zoo tank. The glass was pretty mucky sadly so this isn’t a great view.

Then off to the fish/aquatic bird/tide-pool zone! There are also always lots of ducks I guess probably because ducks are relatively easy to please. Here’s a sleeping duck. I tried to identify it but I couldn’t actually find it on the Cascade Ponds page on the zoo’s website.

Look more of those Giant Green Anemones I saw hundreds of! There were also some wonderful Rockfish.

As we were leaving the zoo we swung by some of the big cats and with the help of my camera zoom I got a nice view of this tiger.

So that’s the end of my animal adventures in Oregon. ♥