November 12, 2016 Cascade Head Scenic Area at the River House
We had our monthly Audubon field trip this morning, the subject being how to take bird pictures. For the participating 17 birders, the morning started with high winds and overcast skies but no rain. In our talk about bird photography, we explained how difficult it was to take a picture into a very light background. Turns out we needed all our expertise in taking pictures of a Northern Pygmy Owl. Field guide, Mark Elliot, mentioned when we first started our trip to look out for this owl. We don't know why he said that since we very, very rarely see them. Just before our walk got over and only 50 yards from where we started, one of our group spotted this owl on a branch next to the road. He happened to be the only person from out of state, Kansas of all places, where they do not have this bird. What a treat for all of us!
Sightings of the Day
Common Loon
Surf Scoter
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Hermit Thrush
Marsh Wren
Pacific Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Northern Pygmy Owl
Steller's Jay
Western Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Bald Eagle
Common Raven
Western Gull
October 8, 2016 Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint to Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area
It was the calm after the rains that drew 20 birders to Boiler Bay. The morning was gray but with no wind or precipitation. Meeting in the parking lot at Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint 20 birders, from as far away as Indianapolis IN and Yachats OR, gathered in a circle to introduce themselves to each other before scoping out the area for sea and shore birds . . . but not before immediately spotting Gray Whales just north of the parking area. So it took a while to get everyone together and to direct their attention to birding!
During stops from Boiler Bay to Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area, field guide Mark Elliott continuously set up his scope so others could get close views of Black Oystercatchers, Pacific Loons, Harlequin Ducks, and more. Brown Pelicans and Surf Scoters were migrating south in large and numerous groups. In all, it was a very pleasant morning and an enjoyable birding experience.
Sightings of the Day
Great Blue Heron
Song Sparrow
Brown Pelican
Pacific Loon
Western Grebe
Surf Scoter
Common Murre
Pelagic Cormorant
Savannah Sparrow
European Starling
Brewer's Blackbird
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow
American Robin
Black Oystercatcher
Black Turnstone
Harlequin Duck
Red-necked Grebe
Common Loon
Stellar's Jay
Western Gull
California Gull
Bald Eagle
September 9, 2016 Birding the Little Nestucca River in Kayaks
What a beautiful, sunny morning to spend in kayaks searching for the winged ones! Six birders, from Lincoln City, Otis and Depoe Bay enjoyed paddling and birding the Little Nestucca River. Even before we launched our kayaks in the river, a Bald Eagle made an appearance just on the other side of the river. We caught the river during slack tide and headed down river toward the bay. Up ahead, 150-200 yards, about a dozen Great Egrets and just as many Great Blue Herons were mingling along the river bank. And just in front of them on a sandbar must have been about 75 Double-crested Cormorants. In all 26 bird species were sighted. On the return trip, a Belted Kingfisher led us upriver for quite a distance. Oh, and let's not forget that we saw 2 other Bald Eagles perched on a tree at river's edge. Fantastic morning!!
Sightings of the Day
Bald Eagle
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Double-crested Cormorant
Spotted Sandpiper
Barn Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Tree Swallow
Canada Goose
Mallard
Common Merganser
American Crow
Western Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Immature Gulls
Red-winged Blackbird
Marsh Wren
Northern Flicker
Song Sparrow
Sandpipers - flock of -Least or -Western
American Robin
European Starling
Belted Kingfisher
Wilson’s Warbler
Turkey Vulture
Steller's Jay
August 13, 2016 Bayocean Spit/Tillamook Bay
Had a very nice bird outing this morning guided by Jack Hurt. To our surprise we shared Bayocean with a 5K and 10K foot race. In spite of such a foggy morning, birders did manage to see and photograph a number of birds. The highlighted bird of the morning was the Wrentit. Jack Doyle managed to get a great shot of the elusive bird. Another great find were Caspian Terns.
Sightings of the Day
American Goldfinch
White-crowned Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Glaucus-winged Gull
Semi-palmated Plover
Belted Kingfisher
American Robin
Black-headed Grosbeak
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Common Yellowthroat
Wrentit
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
Northern Flicker
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Canada Goose
July 9, 2016 Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area
The Peregrine Falcons were quite active when the eighteen birders arrived at the visitor center parking lot. One was chasing a Turkey Vulture and two others were playing war games as they easily maneuvered with death-defying, high-speed dives. Down below, birders had their cameras aimed in the sky to record what was happening above. Back on the walk, after his recent knee replacement surgery, field guide Mark Elliott gathered everyone together and proceeded to walk in the direction of the lighthouse. On the way, we witnessed a mother Barn Swallow feeding its chicks in the nest. Whewww, the wind was howling as we tried to steady our cameras and spotting scopes, yet it was a beautiful sunny morning. The murres, cormorants and gulls were either gathering new nesting material or tending to their young as the vultures were scoping them out from above. The falcons were the only raptors we saw this morning. Once again, we had a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Sightings of the Day
Peregrine Falcon
Turkey Vulture
Barn Swallow
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
American Crow
Pelagic Cormorant
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Western Gull
Harlequin Duck
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow
Brandt's Cormorant
Black Oystercatcher
June 11, 2016 Salmon River Estuary: Tamara Quays and Pixieland
It was a warm morning with the sun breaking through the clouds. There were 17 of us walking along the road listening to the songs of the birds. Tamara Quays was our first stop and while we could tell the song of the Swainson's Thrush it was never in our sight until.....it decided to rest on a branch.
Sightings of the Day
Song Sparrow
Barn Swallow
Anna's Hummingbird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Turkey Vulture
Pacific Wren
Wilson's Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Cedar Waxwing
Warbling Vireo
American Goldfinch
Belted Kingfisher
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Goose
American Crow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bald Eagle
Western Wood-Pewee
Osprey
May 14, 2016 Villages at Cascade Head/Roads End Park
It was too wet for cameras. We had about 10-12 birders and considering the weather saw some interesting birds.
First bird of the day was the Olive-sided Flycatcher. When we arrived at the beach, we were surprised to see a pair of Black Oystercatchers
on the beach and you could tell by the birds that were present it was "migratory bird day" for Mew Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Dunlin, etc.
Sightings of the Day
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Red-tailed Hawk
Anna’s Hummingbird
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
(heard)Wilson’s Warbler
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Orange-crowned Warbler
American Robin
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
American Crow
Western Gull
Mew Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull
Dunlin
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Black Oystercatcher
Surf Scoter
Pelagic Cormorant
Scaup
Brown Pelican
American Goldfinch
April 9, 2016 Beaver Creek State Park
There were 9 people present for the bird walk. We saw or heard 16 birds we could identify and heard a lot of birds we couldn’t identify or find to see. Birding was mostly by ear at this site. Unfortunately, the marsh trail was not available – closed this time of year, and the south access point parking can’t handle more than 6-8 cars. The road we walked did provide some marsh overlook but no view of open water so no view of waterfowl.
Sightings of the Day
Anna's Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
Red-winged Blackbird
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Morning Dove
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Marsh Wren
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-eyed Vireo (?)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (?)
March 12, 2016 Seal Rock State Recreation Area
When we left Otis it was 39 degrees, dark, cold and raining with a forecast of 100% rain all day. Rained all the way down to Seal Rock but at 9am the sun came out for us to start birding, the surrounding sky was black. After 30 minutes the sun went behind a few clouds as we moved to a location looking south down the coast. It was then we saw lightning followed by thunder and more rain. We went back to the parking lot to wait out the downpour before heading down 101 in search of more birds. At the second spot all the birds that were on the beach suddenly took off indicating the fly over by a Bald Eagle. The highlight of the trip was a lone Peregrine Falcon sitting atop a high rock formation 100 yards out.
Sightings of the Day
Bald Eagle
Pelagic Cormorant
Brandt's Cormorant
Western Gull
Black Oystercatcher
Peregrine Falcon
Surf Scoter
Glaucous-winged Gull
American Crow
Common Raven
February 13, 2016 Siletz Bay at 51st and Salishan Nature Trail
"Red sky morning, sailors take warning." That's the way the morning started but 26 birders lucked out. Although it was a bit chilly morning, there was no rain, yet! With field guide, Mark Elliott, the morning started at the dock next to Mo's restaurant. Unfortunately the dock was closed off but we did manage to see quite a few birds such as Great Egret, Common Loon, Bald Eagle, grebes and mergansers, gulls, and other species. From 51st Street we headed to the Salishan Marketplace to walk the Salishan Nature Trail along the north side of the golf course. This is a short yet interesting trail with a variety of bird species. A great morning for all.
Birds shown: Red Crossbills, Anna's Hummingbird, Great Blue Heron
Sightings of the Day
Bald Eagle
Rock Dove
Western Gull
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Great Egret
Western Grebe
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Common Merganser
Anna’s Hummingbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Canada Goose
Pine Siskin
Red Crossbill
Northern Flicker
American Robin
Eurasian Collared Dove
Song Sparrow
Hermit Thrush
Pelagic Cormorant
American Crow
Common Raven
Steller’s Jay
January 9, 2016 Newport's OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center Nature Trail, South Jetty, and South Beach
Another great Audubon outing for 18 birders, this time at Newport. Rainy and cold to begin with and then the bright sun and warmth broke through the clouds as predicted by Mark Elliott, our Field Guide and weather prognosticator. Mark located several outstanding and rarely seen birds by us. They included Bullock's Oriole, Snowy Plover, Mountain Plover, Harlequin Duck, Brants, and a flotilla of more common species. Thank you Mark Elliot for leading the charge.
Sightings of the Day
American Crow
Bald Eagle
Common Loon
Surf Scoter
Great Blue Heron
Bufflehead
Belted Kingfisher
Bald Eagle
European Starling
Northern Pintail
America Wigeon
Brandt
Song Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Northern Harrier
Eurasian Wigeon
Dark-eyed Junco
House Sparrow
American Robin
Townsend Warbler
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
House Finch
Red-winged Blackbird
Spotted Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Bullocks Oriole
Western Grebe
Brown Pelican
Horned Grebe
Common Goldeneye
Harlequin Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Snowy Plover
Mountain Plover
Sanderling
Double-crested Cormorant
Bufflehead
