Whew, the day was definitely for the ducks . . . with gusting winds and sheets of rain showering the land, drenching every square inch of any surface exposed to the elements. A perfect day to stay indoors, sitting by the fire, comfortably content reading a book and sipping tea or hot chocolate. Ah yes! But . . . oh no . . . eight diehard birders from Otis and Lincoln City climbed in their chariots and headed to the Nestucca Wildlife Refuge in Cloverdale. Meeting at the parking lot, they climbed into 2 vehicles (4 in each) to begin their morning of bird watching. First stop was at the top of the observation hill. To the north above the treeline flew a raven. Actually, we thought it was being tossed around by the wind . . . either that or it ate some craziweed. Its flight was anything but graceful! "Look there, on the southern ridge. Three cowbirds!" The birders turned around so fast, you'd swear they would have all fallen with whiplash. Kidding . . . they're just three cows!" That's pretty much how the rest of the morning progressed. Lots of laughter yet, surprisingly, many bird sightings! In fact, by the time we finished driving around the neighborhood of the local dairy farms, frequently clambering out of the cars to get better, wetter, views of the numerous winged ones, and stopping at the Grateful Bread Restaurant for brunch, we had a count of 36 species of birds who were crazy enough to be flapping around in such wild weather! Go figure!! (Sorry, readers, but no photos were taken, for obvious reasons!!) If you'd like to learn more about the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, click here.

Birds seen at NWR, Little Nestucca, and surrounding area:

Sightings of the Day

Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Common Raven
Canada Geese
Cackling Geese
Hermit Thrush
Steller Jay
Spotted Towhee
Bufflehead
Northern Flicker
House Finch
Purple Finch
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
American Robin
European StarlingBrewer's Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
American Coot
Ring-necked Duck
Red-tailed Hawk
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Mallard
Northern Harrier
American Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Immature Bald Eagle
Western Gull
American Crow
House Sparrow
American Kestrel
Surf Scoter
Golden-crowned Sparrow