Astoria

A lovely day at Astoria yesterday.

• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Robins
• American Crows
• Great Egrets
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• American Wigeons
• European Starlings
• Steller's Jays
• Mourning Dove
• Brewer's Blackbird
• American Coots
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Gadwalls

We expected South Jetty to be a pretty big attraction, as it usually is, but let me tell you... I don't think anyone could ever see less in such a prime location.  I don't know where the birds were yesterday morning, but they weren't at the jetty.

• American Crows
• Western Gulls - and I'm not even talking, "oh it was just a bunch of gulls"... it was more like, "oh my goodness, there's a gull!!!"
• Song Sparrows
• Great Blue Heron

South Jetty
cloudy and foggy with a slice of sunshine

Not only were the pickings slim, we really worked to get to the beach.  The tide was high, with a stream blocking the beach, so we walked into the field, through tall grass and soggy ground to jump over the stream once it was narrow enough. Then we struggled our way through taller grass, sand, logs and bushes, over the sand dune to see.... absolutely nothing on the beach, in the water or in the sky.  Oh wait, there were more crows in the far distance!  It was kind of weird.

Next we tried the main beach access and the wooded trails near by.

• Sanderlings* 
• Bald Eagles
• Pacific Wren* - a division of Winter Wren
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadees
• American Robins
• Varied Thrushes
• Northern Flickers
• Downy Woodpecker
• Common Ravens

*Lifers!

The Sanderlings suddenly took off out of sight

the culprit
(take a look at those beefy legs!)

then he just leaves

a juvenile Bald Eagle follows

Northern Flicker  (25% black and white photo)

deer scratchings

At one point the walking trail goes through a tunnel, beneath a road, and right next to that was a dead Western Grebe.  We were speculating how it died. I noticed there was a trail of feathers leading from the road, down the embankment to where it lied and I thought it could have flown in front of a car and bounced off the windshield (something my cousin and I unfortunately witnessed with a crow and a car ahead of us one trip).  My cousin pointed out that grebes can't walk and would have no reason to be near woods (especially flying low to the ground), making it all the more mysterious.  

Next we stopped at a sewage plant of sorts, which surprisingly, was recommended in a birding pamphlet.  It also borders the Columbia River.

• Greater Scaup* - we stood there with our books forever, realizing Lesser Scaup and Greater Scaup are soooo similar that it's ridiculous. 
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Common Loon
• Buffleheads
• Western Grebes
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Ruddy Ducks

Greater Scaup

You never know what you're going to come across.  A part of me REALLY wanted to take a peak, but I think there may have been someone inside.

And there was waterfowl in there...
:(

Lastly we checked out the Eagle Sanctuary off Highway 30 that several people have recommended to me.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was almost dark, so there wasn't a whole lot out there, but I have a feeling this place has a lot of potential early in the day.

• Mallards
• Green-Winged Teals
• Great Blue Heron
• Tundra Swans

Sapsucker holes