Oregon Birding

  • By Bruce Glick
  • October 27, 2015
  • 364
                        
Oregon Birding An opportunity came up recently for Helen and I to head out to the Oregon coast for two weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed the 10 days along the coast, after which we drove on down to the California Redwoods for 3 days. Most recently we spent one day at Lassen Volcanic National Park and then headed east through Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Before reaching the coast we stopped in Albany, Oregon and spent a lovely evening with Larry and Mary Jane Eby. The Ebys used to live near us, east of Millersburg. In the Albany area there were lots of Black-billed Magpies. We also saw them in a number of other areas. Unfortunately, we didn’t get far enough south in the central valley of California to see the very similar Yellow-billed Magpie. We met the Pacific Ocean at Newport, Oregon. Just north of town is the Yaquina Head Preserve. This is a beautiful coastal point that sticks out into the ocean far enough to give observers great looks at migrant and nesting water birds. We ended up going back a second day, staying both nights at South Beach State Park. At the campground I heard and then saw a Varied Thrush. We also had them at the campgrounds in the Redwoods. Other thrushes included hundreds of American Robins and several Hermit Thrushes. Both kinglets were around, especially the Golden-crowneds, much as was the case back home just before we headed out. Winter Wrens and Fox Sparrows were quite common. At Yaquina Point there were many Sooty Shearwaters flying by offshore, especially in the morning. Three kinds of cormorants and all three species of scoters were also hanging out near the point, but especially Surf Scoters. It was easy to see 300-500 during the day. Common, Red-throated and Pacific Loons were findable in small numbers. Lots of Horned Grebes and smaller numbers of Western Grebes showed up all along the coast. I’m writing this column on October 27, and on our way home today we stopped at the Great Salt Lake, just west of Salt Lake City. As seems to be the case all over Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah, so much of the lake has dried up that boats can’t even get out to the lake anymore. However, there must have been 5,000-10,000 Eared Grebes on just the section of lake that I could see. It was quite a spectacle. Back at the Oregon coast, there were a number of different gulls, but my favorite by far was Heermann’s Gull. Lots of them were coming through, along with many Brown Pelicans and Common Murres. I also enjoyed seeing a Peregrine Falcon swooping down to scatter the waterfowl. One afternoon we were checking out a tidal pool when five Harlequin Ducks flew in and spent 30 minutes preening and showing off for photographers. We saw almost no shorebirds but did see one Marbled Godwit with many gulls and a few Caspian Terns. In the Redwoods there were small flocks of Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins. Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers and Hutton’s Vireos joined the kinglets, thrushes, and Winter Wrens. This turned out to be a very special vacation, perhaps partly because it came up quickly and wasn’t planned. Now it’s back to November birding, always a good month for finding rare birds, especially along Lake Erie. Good birding! Bruce Glick birderbruce@yahoo.com 330-317-7798


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