Where 20,000 birds spend the winter.
The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge hosts its own Audubon Christmas Bird Count each winter, as tens of thousands of waterfowl gather on the wetlands. Free boardwalk trails, a nature store, and expert-led counting make it a winter tradition a short drive from 22379 SW 107th Ave.
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is the closest big wild place to home, and winter is its dramatic season. When the rains fill the basins, the refuge becomes one of the best places in northwest Oregon to see waterfowl, with an average of about 20,000 birds on the water in midwinter and peak years topping 50,000.
The refuge runs its own circle in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the century-old citizen science survey that tallies winter birds across the Americas each December and January. It is an easy, family-friendly way to participate in real conservation science without leaving the Tualatin Valley, and the refuge's free trails are open every day of the year.
Plan your visit
Free, open every day of the year.
Hours
Trails and parking dawn to dusk, 365 days a year
The outdoor areas never close, which makes early mornings the right call: waterfowl are most active at first light, and frost on the boardwalk is part of the winter charm. The Visitor Center is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM, and closed Mondays.
Location
19255 SW Pacific Hwy, Sherwood, free entry
The refuge sits just west of town on Highway 99W, a short drive from 22379 SW 107th Ave and an easy detour from I-5. Entry and parking are free, including for the nature store and all trails.
Nature store
Nature's Overlook, run by Friends of Tualatin Refuge
Inside the Visitor Center, the Nature's Overlook store sells field guides, feeders, and nature gifts, with spotting scopes trained on the wetlands. Staff and volunteers can point first-time visitors to the day's best birding.
The count
Part of a 126-year-old science tradition.
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the hemisphere's longest-running community science survey, and the 2026-27 season, the 127th count, runs December 14, 2026 through January 5, 2027. Each participating circle picks one day in that window, and Tualatin River NWR operates its own circle, with refuge staff and volunteers fanning out across the wetlands to tally every bird they can find.
Last winter the refuge's count fell on Saturday, December 20, and organizers expect a similar mid-December date for 2026-27, announced closer to the season. Anyone can join: birders of every skill level are welcome, and beginners are paired with experienced counters. Watch the Oregon Birding Association count page for the confirmed date, or email the refuge at tualatinriver@fws.gov to sign up.
Even if you do not join a count team, counting season is a wonderful time to visit: the refuge feels busiest and most alive in December, and the data collected there tracks the health of the wetland that anchors Tualatin's natural landscape year-round.
The birds
What the winter wetland holds.
Waterfowl by the thousands
About 20,000 birds in an average midwinter
Cackling Canada geese, northern pintails, mallards, American wigeon, and lesser scaup are the everyday winter crowd, joined by wood ducks and hooded mergansers along the channel edges. In peak years the refuge has hosted more than 50,000 waterfowl at once.
Species to watch for
Teal, scaup, ruddy duck, tundra swan
Green-winged and blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, ruddy duck, and the occasional tundra swan all turn up in winter, along with herons, raptors, and songbirds working the forested edges. A good pair of binoculars and the refuge's seasonal bird list cover most of it.
The River Trail
About 0.9 mile, open year-round
The year-round River Trail includes boardwalk sections through riparian forest and opens onto the main wetland views. It is flat, stroller-friendly, and the best walk in the area for a quick winter birding outing with young kids.
The basin, closed on purpose
Wetland Trail closed in winter to protect birds
The inner Wetland Trail closes from October through April each year so wintering waterfowl can rest undisturbed. Keep to the River Trail and observation areas, and the birds stay close, which is exactly the point.
Seasonal rhythm
Winter is the refuge's show season.
Summer gets the hiking crowds, but the refuge's planners will tell you winter is when the sanctuary does its most important work. The shallow basins that dry out in summer are flooded and loaded with birds by December, which is why the count circle exists and why local birders mark the holiday season by it.
Pair a count-morning visit with the rest of the season's rhythms: the refuge's art workshops and winter wildlife around Tualatin, the holiday events on our local events calendar, and a warm meal at any of the spots in the cozy dining guide. A morning at the refuge and an afternoon at a local cafe is a perfect December day near home.
Make Your Move
A home base next to one of Oregon's winter wonders.
Twenty thousand birds on open water, ten minutes from your front door: that is the kind of livability Tualatin sells. 22379 SW 107th Ave sits close to the refuge, the river greenway, and the parks that make the area special. Paul Knighton of MORE Realty can show you the home and the neighborhood that surrounds it.
Schedule a Tour