Southern Oregon Coast: Anniversary

Hi All,

Last Wednesday (4/20/16) my wife and I headed toward the southern Oregon coast for a few days.  The 20th was our 36th anniversary, and we did not have any specific plans as to where we would stay or all the places we might go, although we did have some ideas.  The idea of heading that direction was from my wife, as she wanted to revisit a place near Coos Bay where we had been some 20 +/- years ago, called the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and I was not objecting since it gave me the opportunity to work my bird lists for the counties we would be in.  

Just before leaving home, I spied a raptor out the back window that just did not look “right.”  So I grabbed my binoculars and dashed out onto the front lawn where I figured I would have the best view, and it turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon, only the second I have seen at my place in some 30+ years.  Plus, it was not one of the local wintering subspecies, but one that must winter elsewhere, being quite whitish underneath and lighter grey on the back.   I took this as a good omen that we’d be having a good trip - such is how I think for sure.  

We left about 10:00 and headed straight west to Newport, 90 minutes away, and decided we needed a walk when we got there, so headed to the trail which skirts the Marine Science Center.  But first, we checked some feeders where a Bullock’s Oriole has been coming all winter, but he was not around, so we headed to the trail.  It was high tide, so the water of the bay was up close to vegetation, forcing shorebirds close to the high water mark.  At one point there were some 150 shorebirds, mostly Western and Least Sandpipers, with a few Dunlin mixed in.  While taking pictures of them, I noticed one that was different, so zeroed in with the lense and ended up documenting a rare spring appearance of a Baird’s Sandpiper.  They are somewhat common in fall migration, and this was the first spring bird I have seen in Oregon.

Baird's Sandpiper

After that we headed south, stopping here and there at a few viewpoints to scan the ocean and take in scenery.  It continued to be a sunny and not too windy day, and the water was pretty smooth.  When we reached Florence, we ate lunch at the marina where we could take in the sights while we ate.

After lunch we continued our journey south to Reedsport and then to adjacent Winchester Bay, where we checked in to our lodging.  As we needed a walk, we headed out to the jetty area, and walked on the beach for a while and sat on some driftwood.  It was still quite sunny and not too breezy, making the afternoon quite pleasant.  In the area I was able to add Least Sandpiper (149) and Western Sandpiper (150) and on the jetty, Surfbird (151), to my Douglas County list.  Next we went east of Reedsport to  Dean Creek where elk can almost always be seen from the wayside, and today was no different.  We counted 65, mostly cows.  Across the road from the wayside is some kind of former dwelling where some very old rhododendrons have grown quite tall, making quite a scene.

Elk

Huge Rhododendrons near elk viewing area

By the time we were finished there, Rosie needed to set up our room for a romantic dinner, so I let her off and went birding, trying to add a few species to my Douglas County list.  As the tide had now shifted to low tide, I went to check out some exposed mudflats, looking for shorebirds, and added Semipalmated Plover (152).  A short walk in town netted me a Savannah Sparrow (153).

Entering our room, I was greeted by this nice spread.

Our romantic dinner.

So we had a nice candlelight dinner and reminisced about 36 years together.  It was certainly great that my schedule worked out to be off these days.  In a few years I hopefully won’t have to worry about schedules and such.    

In the morning, before breakfast, I headed out to the marina area and found Purple Martin (154), Pine Siskin (155), Band-tailed Pigeon (156) and Wilson’s Warbler (157). 

After breakfast we continued south. The next stop was in Coos Bay only about 20 miles away, where we took a walk by some aeration ponds.  There was a dike through the midst of them leading to an overlook of the beach and ocean.

Beach overlook

The ponds held some 75 Gadwall (the largest flock I have ever seen of this species) and a few Bufflehead, Ring-necked Ducks and Mallards, plenty of Marsh Wrens and Red-winged Blackbirds, and a few Golden-crowned Sparrows, the latter of which was an addition to my Coos County list (143).  After that we took the bridge across the bay, through North Bend, Coos Bay and Charleston to the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve where we had been some 20 years ago.  One thing we remembered about the walk there was loads of skunk cabbage along the trail.  

The boardwalk at the South Slough Reserve

We were getting tired, and my daypack was wearing on me.

Taking a break

Looks like he had no trouble with his day pack!

The "tunnel" part of the walk.

It was quite evident that Wilson’s Warblers had arrived en masse recently as they were singing virtually everywhere we went.  Other additions to my Coos list were Pacific Slope Flycatcher (144), Brown Creeper (145) and Hermit Warbler (146).   

We finally finished the loop trail, got in our car, and headed south again, stopping at Subway in Bandon.  While we had plenty of food with us, we were feeling like we needed a little reward for such a long walk.  After lunch we continued south into Curry County with Gold Beach as our destination.  There were lots of waysides and side trips we could have stopped at, and it was hard to know where to stop and and where not to.  I decided to take Rosie to Cape Blanco, a spot where you have quite a panorama of the coast, and on a nice day, the view can't be beat.  However, by now the wind had kicked up and so did the rain, so our time there was shortened.  At least on the way out we saw a couple Wild Turkeys (123), a new addition to the Curry list.

Another place we stopped, was the south end of the bridge just before Humbug Mountain.  I had mentioned to Rosie before we left our home that maybe we should hike to the top of it, but now our bodies were not quite up to it, being tired from the last hike.  But here, where a creek entered the ocean, was a large flock of gulls, and I added Herring Gull (124).  It is a unique place with a campground and some day I’d like to explore it better. 

Upon reaching Gold Beach we drove to the north jetty of the Rogue River. There were 2 Greater White-fronted Geese here (125) which were another addition to the Curry list.  It was still windy so we stayed in the car as we watched Fishermen, Sea Lions, Cormorants and Osprey trying to catch fish.  It appeared to me that the Sea Lions were fishing as a team.  A group of them would all submerge at the same time, and basically surface at the same time. At one point I counted 6 Osprey flying over the water between and beyond the end of the jetties.  All this tells me there must be plenty of fish in the area. 

Greater White-fronted Goose

Osprey with a lamprey (can you see the blood?)

Sea Lion

A group of 6 Sea Lions

From there we drove over the bridge and into Gold Beach to the motel for the evening.  There was still plenty of light, but it was just too windy to enjoy the great outdoors.  Plus, I remembered I could watch the Warriors play the Rockets, something to pass the time doing.

We both slept well, and after breakfast were out and about by 08:30.  I was hoping to find a couple species of grebes in the harbor, but it was not to be.  There were some 50 or so seals on the beach, and the usual Osprey, Cormorants and Sea Lions were out fishing again.  

Seals on the beach

So after exploring the harbor, jetty and coast, we drove inland along the Rogue River about 5 miles to a trail we had read about.  On the way out we noticed an Osprey sailing around on the left side of the road.  He then started diving and it looked like he was going to be playing roulette with us, but he ended up grabbing a piece of bark on the road just as if it were a fish, not even landing, no doubt intending to add it to his nest building or repairing.  

We found the trail OK, and after walking on it for a few hundred yards, realized that it paralleled the road, was up and down, and we figured we could just as easily walk on the gravel bars near the river much easier anyway, so abandoned the trail for easier walking.  There were plenty of birds around, but only one new addition was to get on the list-Wood Duck (126).  For those of you readers who live in Oregon, you are no doubt aware of the non-native plant called “Scotch Broom.”  It is all over the western part of the state, and quite noticeable at this time of year with its yellow blossums.   On a rare occasion a plant will have red blossums, and we found a large one along the river.

Scotch Broom with red flowers

The Rogue River

I have to admit, seeing that river reminded my of my hope to eventually do a canoe trip of some 40 miles on these lower stretches of it.  It is sooo scenic.

Driving back to Gold Beach yielded my Purple Martin (127) for the county.  We took one more jaunt to the north jetty before heading back north.  We decided we would return home late today rather than spend one more day traipsing around for two reasons:  The weather was not looking real promising, and I needed to work Sunday, so it would probably be best to get a good night’s rest the preceding two nights.  Just a mile or so north of Gold Beach a Sharp-shinned Hawk (128) was the final addition to Curry, leaving me with many shorebirds and waterfowl still needed there.

Again, we stopped here and there to check out the views or make short walks.  Two places we did walk were the Humbug Mountain Campground and Arizona Beach.  Both places are nice, and a trail goes under the North/South Hwy 101 to the beach.  We opted to eat at the Flores Lake Park, but the lake was virtually devoid of birds.  From there we pretty much drove straight to Newport, then east inland and toward home.  One short stop we made was at a popular wayside facing north where one can see the picturesque Heceta Head Lighthouse.   I remember seeing a picture of such in a National Geographic magazine when I was a teen (late ‘60s) in an article about Oregon (I think) and hoped that some day I might visit that beautiful state.  And now, low and behold, I married someone from there and now live here.  Now isn’t that uncanny!

The scenic Heceta Head Lighthouse.

About 4 miles out of Newport we found ourselves behind a long line of stopped cars, and assumed there was an accident up ahead.  We made the decision to backtrack to Newport, and take the road along the bay/river east to Toledo hoping to beat the traffic.  It was a risk, for if it did not pay off, we’d be in worse shape, behind even more cars heading east.  So when we reached the highway, there were no cars in sight, and we did not see another one going our direction for quite some time, so the risk paid off, and we got home around 0830 pm.  Upon getting my email, I saw that two other birders had refound the Baird’s Sandpiper, so that was indeed interesting.  

Next up:  Probably the next post will be a big day in Marion County on 5/5/16 with three other birders, hoping to beat the old record for one full day of birding.  However, I am not sure what that record is.  A former record holder says he and others listed 110, so if that is the one which still stands, we should have no trouble besting that.  Stay tuned.