June 7, 2024 D River Open Space & Devils Lake

On a gorgeous sunny day, 16 people joined the ASLC bird walk through the D River Open Space to Devils Lake. While Song Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds rejoiced in the good weather, Barn Swallows gathered mud for their nests, and Cedar Waxwings flocked in abundance. Spotted Towhees watched us carefully, while a Mallard gathered her spring brood. After the walk, volunteers helped cut invasive ivy from the trees that provide a Lincoln City forest respite. 

Sightings of the day:

Cedar Waxwing, photo by Ruth Shelly

Barn Swallow collecting mud, photo by Ruth Shelly

Barn Swallow
American Crow
Song Sparrow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Warbling Vireo
Red-winged Blackbird
Osprey
Cedar Waxwing
Spotted Towhee
Anna’s Hummingbird
Hawk
American Robin
Steller’s Jay
Bewick’s Wren
Tree Swallow
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Black-headed Grosbeak

Volunteer pulling ivy, photo by Tom Rice

January 12, 2024 Devils Lake and Regatta Park

Ring-necked ducks by Ruth Shelly

This walk through the woods and neighborhood was led by dawn, ASLC President. It was a perfect morning before the storm. Eleven participants talked about getting groceries before the weather changed, and as you can see from this amazing list, so did the birds!

Sightings of the day:

Great Egret by Ruth Shelly

Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Western Grebe
Anna's Hummingbird
American Coot
Western Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
European Starling
Varied Thrush
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow

Birders by Ruth Shelly

June 10, 2022 Regatta Park & Devils Lake

Photo by Caren Willoughby

We did not get rained on! Trip leader, Mark Elliott led 9 birders through the woods around the Regatta Grounds. The trail was well marked and we checked out the signage along the way.  It was warm and the birds did not disappoint us. 

Bird Sightings:

Mallard
Barn Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Turkey Vulture
American Robin
Downy Woodpecker
Spotted Towhee
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
European Starling
Purple Finch
Cedar Waxwing
Anna’s Hummingbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Canada Geese

Photo by Caren Willoughby

Group shot! Photo by Caren Willoughby.

February 8, 2020 Hostetler Park with Devils Lake State Park

Saturday’s birdwalk began with a big question mark. Sponsored by Lincoln City Parks and Recreation, it started at Hostetler Park with trip leader Mark Elliott welcoming 31 participants. We had birders from Pacific City, Waldport, Tacoma, WA, Keizer, Brooks, Salem, Depoe Bay, Albany, Dallas, and Tillamook Community College. The weather challenged us to stay dry. We lost! We also lost entrance to the boardwalk in the direction to Devil's Lake State Park due to repairs. It didn’t take us long to realize that Devil’s Lake State Park was completely flooded and closed to everyone, so we decided that we needed to go to Regatta Park and check out the birds there. The walk through the woods and neighborhood gave us a few birds and kept the group out of high water!

Sightings of the day:
Pacific Wren
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
American Robin
Canada Goose
Bald Eagle
Rock Dove
Common Raven
American Crow
Bufflehead
Western Grebe
Western Gull
Lesser Scaup

September 20, 2019 Hostetler Park (D River) and Devil's Lake State Park, Lincoln City

Mark Elliott was joined by 17 enthusiastic adults and two children for our Hostetler Park/Devil's Lake Bird Watching Clinic. The weather was perfect and the birds a delight! We started the morning watching a flock of Mallards on D River when a beautiful Green Heron flew by right in front of us! We were disappointed that it didn't stop to allow better looks, but it was a treat to see!

Belted Kingfishers entertained us throughout the walk, chasing one another or perched for nice looks. There were dozens of Cedar Waxwings - and a flock of seven Great Egrets flew overhead in a vee formation. At the lake, a pair of Caspian Terns flew over, a pair of Double-crested Cormorants were swimming and diving, while a small flock of California Gulls splashed nearby.

We were just getting ready to leave the lake when someone spotted an Osprey "swimming" in the water. While we watched, it used its powerful wings to lift itself out of the water, looped around and, while we watched, dove with a crash into the lake. It again struggled briefly, then flew up out of the water - but once again, without its prey. It dove a 3rd time, also unsuccessfully, then flew away.

Sightings of the day:
Mallard ~ Common Merganser ~ Rock Pigeon
Anna's Hummingbird ~ Western Gull ~ California Gull
Caspian Tern ~ Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret ~ Green Heron ~ Great Blue Heron
Osprey ~ Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker ~ Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay ~ American Crow ~ Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee ~ Chestnut-backed Chickadee
swallow sp. (dozens circling up in the high clouds)
Wrentit ~ Red-breasted Nuthatch ~ Bewick's Wren
European Starling ~ American Robin ~ Cedar Waxwing
Dark-eyed Junco ~ Song Sparrow ~ Spotted Towhee
Brewer's Blackbird ~ Red-winged Blackbird

June 7, 2019 Regatta Park with Devil's Lake, Lincoln City

A group of 15 people, including 3 children, braved the rain for a walk through the Regatta Park nature trail and vicinity, including Devil's Lake. We enjoyed 23 species of birds. This walk was one of our special Lincoln City Bird Walks, sponsored by Lincoln City Parks and Recreation and Explore Lincoln City.

Sightings of the day:
American Robin ~ American Crow ~ Swainson’s Thrush
Band-tailed Pigeon ~ Pacific Wren ~ Wilson Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler ~ Barn Swallow ~ Violet-green Swallow
Osprey ~ Turkey Vulture ~ Mallard ~ House Finch ~ American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow ~ White-crowned Sparrow ~ Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco
Steller's Jay ~ Vaux's Swift ~ Pacific-slope Flycatcher ~ Spotted Towhee
Great Blue Heron ~ Hummingbird – probably Rufous (heard)

March 8, 2019 Hostetler Park (D River) and Devil's Lake State Park

It was a cold and rainy morning for a bird walk at Hostetler Park and our trip leader, Mark Elliott, predicted there would be two additional birders that would show up. He was pleasantly surprised that there was a total of 16 that wanted to search this area for birds. Some were surprised that this little park was hidden within our city! We saw 23 species including, a first for many, Lincoln’s Sparrow!

Thanks to Lincoln City Parks & Recreation for sponsoring!

Sightings of the Day

Mallard

American Crow

Bufflehead

Common Raven

American Robin

Steller’s Jay

Song Sparrow

Ring-necked Duck

Canada Goose

Northern Flicker

Western Gull

Rock Pigeon

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Dark-eyed Junco

Fox Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Violet-green Swallow

Greater Scaup

Ruddy Duck

Hummingbird sp.

Spotted Towhee

September 22, 2018 Hostetler Park (D River), Devil's Lake State Park

Great Egret, flamingos, Canada Geese photos: Copyright Ernie Rose

Twelve intrepid birders from as far away as Missouri (!) enjoyed two hours of birding along D River and Devil's Lake State Park. It was a pretty quiet, overcast morning but we ended up with 26 species - 27 if you count the pair of Pink Flamingos gracing one of the campsites. Birds were busy and hard to spot in the falling leaves and movement from the slight breeze. A lovely Great Egret landed in D River, while an unexpected Merlin chased a flock of blackbirds overhead - one of the blackbirds was also chasing the Merlin!

Sightings of the Day

Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Western Gull
Turkey Vulture
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Belted Kingfisher
Merlin
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Wawing
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Townsend's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler

June 12, 2015 Devil's Lake State Park/D River Open Space

A group of 16 birders gathered together to participate in our morning walk. It was a sunny morning with a slight breeze. The sound of birds was promising as we started down the boardwalk and through Devil’s Lake State Park. This area has a variety of habitat and we weren't disappointed during our walk.

Sightings of the Day
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Barn Swallow
American Crow
Spotted Towhee
Rufus Hummingbird
Black-headed Grosbeak
American Robin
Turkey Vulture
Red-winged Blackbird
Steller's Jay
Brown-headed Cowbird
Eurasian-collared Dove
Common Loon
Osprey
Western Gull
Violet-green Swallow
Warbling Vireo
European Starling
Wilson's Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow