page_title: Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge
section_title: Flora and fauna
hierarchical_section_title: Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge / Flora and fauna
caption_attribution_description: photo by Meggar
context_page_description: Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge is a city park of about 141 acres in southeast Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in a floodplain along the east bank of the Willamette River near Sellwood, the park is known for attracting a wide variety of birds. In 1988, the park was named Portland's first wildlife refuge, and in 2004, it was designated the city's first migratory bird park.
context_section_description: As of 2010, more than 185 bird species have been recorded in the refuge including herons, egrets, hawks, osprey, shorebirds, gulls, terns, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, grebes, falcons, vultures, waterfowl, and many others. Vegetation, which varies from one part of the refuge to another, includes Oregon white oak, Pacific madrone, ash, and black locust trees; ferns, Oregon-grape, Scotch broom, and poison oak, as well as rushes, sedges, and other plants. Invasive species, gradually being replaced by physical removal and burning, include reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, Himalayan blackberry, and others.
  To regulate the flow of water into and out of the wetlands, the parks department adds or removes boards at a small dam near the railroad berm. The idea is to replicate conditions that existed when the wetlands were fully connected to the river. Part of the water in the wetlands comes from natural springs, and part of the water comes from the river, when it runs high in the winter. Beavers have at times foiled the plan by damming the small stream that carries water between the lake and the river. The parks department has foiled the rodents by running a perforated pipe through the beaver dam.
caption: Oregon-grape, a shrub found in Oaks Bottom
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