Tillamook Area

12.04.12
Tillamook Bay Wetlands
A new place I look forward to visiting again.

Horned Grebe

Fox Sparrow - notice slight eye ring... I hadn't realized they had that.

Profile view of Fox Sparrow.  Btw, this place was crawling with these guys!

Ahhh!!! White-Tailed Kites!  A lifer!!!  Also, they're a lot cooler looking than I thought they would be.  Not the best photo of them, but I like the set up of it.

A typical example of trying to take pictures of a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet... Always on the move...

The first thing we saw was a group of Red Crossbills (Lifer!) in the very tippy top of a tree.  They quickly flew away, but we saw them again when we were leaving. Yay!

And....

• Northern Harrier 
• Great Blue Herons
• Song Sparrows
• Canada Geese
• Steller's Jays
• Bald Eagle
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males
• Downy Woodpecker - male
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Northern Flicker
• Black Phoebes
• Common Mergansers - females
• Common Ravens
• Oregon Juncos
• Spotted Towhee
• Bufflehead - female
• Pine Siskins
• Hairy Woodpecker - male
• American Coots
• Mallards

Barview Jetty

I had been there one other time, this time we visited the opposite side.

• Western Gulls
• California Gulls
• Brown Pelican
• Pelagic Cormorant 
• Varied Thrush
• Common Goldeneye - male

This shot had the potential of killing me.  If you zoom waaay in, at the end of the jetty are several shore birds.  Expected to be either Rock Sandpipers or Surfbirds.  Unfortunately, we never got close enough to find out, as the ocean licked our faces.

Ocean Shores, WA

Boy what a trip...  It took a bit longer than we expected, but the delays made us miss the down pours but not the birds! =D

• American Robins
• Western Gulls
• Surf Scoters
• Red-Breasted Mergansers
• Buffleheads
• Common Loon
• Snowy Owls* - it seemed to know we had a rough day and decided to come to us instead of making us find it :)
• Bald Eagle - and juvenile
• White-Winged Scoters 
• Sanderlings - it was crazy bc the first time we saw them it was a fairly large group and this time it was a single one (at first) then a bit later it was a group of thousands!
• Black Turnstones*
• Common Goldeneye
• Greater Scaups
• Western Sandpipers*
• Horned Grebes
• Northern Harrier
• Western Grebes

*Lifers!

Snowy Owl - female or juvenile?

Black Turnstones

Snowy Owl - not positive if this is the same one or not... it seems like this one has a bit of a widow's peak.

Sanderlings

the Sanderlings took off in waves

thousands of them

Lincoln City

Josephine Young Memorial Park

• Western Gulls
• Bald Eagles
• Buffleheads - males and females
• Surf Scoters - males
• White-Winged Scoters* - male and female
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Horned Grebe
• Common Goldeneyes
• Red-Breasted Merganser - female
• Common Raven
• Spotted Towhee
• House Sparrow
• Red-Winged Blackbird - call

*Lifer!

Bald Eagles

Not a great photo, but I'm happy to get my first White-Winged Scoter - male
(If you look closely you may be able to see the tip of the white wing, in an even crappier shot, you could see more of it, but it was so blurry)

White-Winged Scoter - female!

Double-Crested Cormorant

Fogarty State Park

• Varied Thrushes - male and female
• American Robins
• Oregon Juncos
• Hermit Thursh
• American Crows
• Black Oystercatchers
• Bald Eagle
• Surf Scoter - male
• Black Scoters - males
• Pelagic Cormorants
• Hairy Woodpeckers*
• Northern Flicker
• Anna's Hummingbird - call

*Lifer!

Varied Thrush

Black Oystercatcher - pair - can you spot them? :)

Handsome Black Oystercatcher

Hairy Woodpecker working away

Boiler Bay

• Western Gulls
• Glaucous-Winged Gull
• Pelagic Cormorant
• American Crows
• Common Loon

East Devil's Lake

• Common Merganser - female
• Common Loon
• Tree Swallow
• Buffleheads - males and females
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• Lesser Scaup
• Western Gull - carrying a fish in it's mouth!
• Bald Eagle
• Canada Geese
• Rock Doves - including a rusty plumage variety 

Pacific Loon...?

Along Highway 101

• Brewer's Blackbirds - females
• Common Merganser - female
• American Kestrels
• Western Scrub-Jays
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Robins
• Brants

Broughton Beach

Another trip back to Broughton Beach so my cousin could see the Horned Larks.  I was a little worried when we didn't see them right away, but they made a last minute appearance that surprised us both.

• American Crows
• Bald Eagle 
• Horned Grebes
• Western Grebe
• Lesser Scaup
• Common Mergansers - male
• Common Loons
• Gulls
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Horned Larks
• Great Blue Herons
• European Starlings

Bald Eagle
I'm just trying to win American of the year. Ha!

Broughton Beach, once again, offered interesting beach finds.

Mt. Hood

Great Blue Heron

American Crows

Siletz Spit/ Canon Beach

An attempt to catch the Snowy Owl at Siletz Spit.  As we were closing in on the location that it has been reportedly spotted about two weeks before and two weeks before that, a local guy came out of his house, seeing us all geared up to ask if we were birding.  He informed us the Snowy Owl left last week.  We were a bit saddened by that, but the trip was well worth it anyway.  


Since it was a long trip, I'm splitting up what we saw as we traveled.  


Highway 26 Westbound:

• Red-Tailed Hawk
• American Crows
• Mourning Dove
• American Kestrel 
• Northern Flicker
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Mallards
• Buffleheads
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• European Starlings

Canon Beach:

My goodness that place was dead, as far as birds are concerned.  Oh.. actually that would be quite literally too.  We saw less than 10 Western Gulls, no birds on Haystack Rock, that is except 2 dead Cormorants :(.  Although, on the other side of the rock were several male and female Black Scoters and near the parking lot, a few House Sparrows.

Black Scoters - males and female

Western Gull.... I'm pretty sure.  Gulls are a bit difficult to I.D. sometimes. 

Along Highway 101 Southbound:

• Bufflehead
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Horned Grebe
• Red-Winged Black Bird
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Less Scaups - males
• Ring-Necked Ducks
• Common Loon*
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• "Dusky" Canada Geese*
• Common Raven
• Great Egrets
• Great Blue Heron
• American Robin
• Brewer's Blackbirds

Siletz Spit:

• American Crows
• Kingfisher - male
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Buffleheads
• Spotted Towhees
• Northern Pintails
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Song Sparrow
• American Robins
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Yellow-Rumped Warblers
• Bewick's Wren
• Mallards
• Chest-Nut Backed Chickadee
• Northern Flicker
• Gadwalls
• American Coots
• Varied Thrush - male
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Surf Scoters
• Red-Breasted Mergansers
• Common Loon
• European Starlings
• Common Goldeneyes - males and females
• Barrow's Goldeneyes* - males and females
• Semi-Palmated Plovers

+Rabbits

+Harbor Seal

*Lifers!!

Surf Scoter - juvenile male

Red-Breasted Merganser - male

Semipalmated Plovers

Common Loon

Broughton Beach

Rumor around Portland has been that a flock of Horned Larks have been hanging around Fire Station 18 with the Snow Bunting and across the street at Broughton Beach on Marine Drive.  Sure enough, the first thing I see is a group of Horned Larks foraging on the ground.  Yay for a lifer!

• Horned Larks*
• Horned Grebe
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Canada Geese
• Gulls
• Western Grebe
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Sandhill Cranes
• American Kestrel 

*Lifer!

Horned Lark

Horned Grebe

Western Grebe

Various glass and crud washed up on the beach

Including an old Pepsi bottle chunk

And hey, a feather!

Furnhill Wetlands Nature Trail

• American Coots
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• Various Gulls
• Western Gulls
• European Starlings
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - males and females
• Mallards
• Canada Geese
• Northern Shovelers - male and female
• Common Mergansers
• Cackling Geese
• American Kestrels - male and female
• Mourning Dove
• Ruddy Ducks* - male and female
• Buffleheads
• Northern Pintails - male and female
• Green-Winged Teal - male and female
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Oregon Junco
• Gadwall
• Domesticated water fowl
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Bald Eagles
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Harrier
• Song Sparrow
• Ring-Necked Duck - male
• Bushtits
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• American Robin
• Northern Flicker
• Golden-Crowned Sparrow
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Purple Finches - male and female
• Horned Grebe
• Glaucous-Winged Gull - juvenile

*Lifer!

Bald Eagle pair

Canada Geese

Juvenile Gull

Furnhill Wetlands

• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Short-Billed Dowitchers*
• Mallards - male and female
• Domesticated waterfowl
• Northern Pintail
• Bufflehead 
• Common Merganser* - male and female
• American Coot
• American Kestrel
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Western Gull
• Bonaparte's Gull*
• American Robins - male and female
• Canada Geese
• Cackling Geese*
• Brewer's Blackbirds
• Red-Winged Blackbird - male
• Mourning Dove
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Western Grebe
• Horned Grebe*
• European Starlings
• Northern Shovelers
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Green-Winged Teal*
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet*
• Northern Flicker
• Oregon Juncos
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Cooper's Hawk - juvenile
• Song Sparrow
• Rock Dove

*Lifer!

Short-Billed Dowitchers

Great Blue Heron