Upon the arrival of some of us, we were greeted by a flyover of what is fast becoming our group's mascot, the Bald Eagle, which has been present at all but one ASLC field trip in the past 4-5 years. When all were present in the lower parking lot of the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, we gathered in a circle, announced our names and resident towns, and then made a slow procession uphill toward the observation platform. With binoculars in hand, cameras at the ready, eyes and ears sensitive to the slightest movement and/or faintest sound, field guides Mark Elliott and Dick Demarest gave the other 28 birders an idea of what birds we might observe at this place during this time of year. It was a gray, misty morning with fog heading toward us from the north. When we arrived at the upper parking lot, the fog was dropping down to the top of the trees of the wooded hillside on our right. As we made the turn on to the path heading to the observation platform, a Bald Eagle flew right over us before any of the photographers had a chance to snap a shot prior to its being dissolved by the fog. If that wasn't unfortunate enough, another eagle followed the same flight path within a few minutes, and still no photos! By then we could see the fog had dropped below the trees, so it was decided we would travel the Meda Loop Rd that circles the wetland of the Little Nestucca River on the east side of Hwy 101. In the past it has always rewarded us with greating sightings, and it continued to do so on this day. In all, between the two locations, 35 species were viewed. Not bad for such a gray day!
Birds Pictured (clockwise from top left):
Black Phoebe
Marsh Wren
Great Blue Heron
Northern Pintail and Canada Goose
Sightings of the Day
Red Crossbill
Northern Flicker
Dusky Goose
Bald Eagle (5 adults, 1 immature)
American Robin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Merlin
Red-breasted Nuthatch
American Kestrel
Hooded Merganser
Gold-crowned Kinglet
Townsend's Warbler
Bufflehead
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Pied-billed Grebe
Mallard
Gold-crowned Sparrow
Northern Pintail
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black Phoebe
American Crow
American Coot
Ring-necked Duck
Gadwall
Glaucous-winged Gull
Dark-eyed Junco
Steller's Jay
Wilson’s Snipe
Marsh Wren