White-tailed Kites on the coast

My birding associate and I traveled to the northern Oregon coast last weekend for our first getaway of the year. We repeated the trip we made last year but stayed one more day and went to a few more spots.
Our first stop was the fields around the Nehalem Sewage Treatment Ponds where we'd seen a White-tailed Kite last year. This time we were rewarded with THREE Kites! A pair sat together and preened then a third joined them and they all hovered and hunted over the fields. My photos aren't the greatest but they bring back the thrill we felt watching all three of these magnificent birds fly effortlessly around us.







Here are a few shots of Ridgefield NWR on the New Year's Day trip with Mr and Ms Nut.
Look at their photos here, here and here .

Weekend at the Coast

Although I had the best intentions, I didn't manage to get the camera out at all this weekend! My birding associate and I drove out to the northern section of Tillamook County (home of the cheese factory!) to do some birding and have a nice time away from the city. He is tops at picking lodging that's off the beaten path and that's just what we got with the Old Wheeler Hotel.

The winter rate was great, the room was lovely (we had #7) and the antique shops on the short main street were fun to peruse. I bought quite a few goodies at Trillium, the store located on the street level of the hotel. It specialized in wonderful artsy products; jewelry, textiles, prints, ceramics and handmade baskets.

The birding was wonderful, too! As you may know, sewage treatment ponds are prime birding areas so we spent a lot of time at the Nehalem Sewage Treatment Ponds. Mark's target bird was a White-tailed Kite and the fields around the ponds are known to be a good spot to find one. We came around the curve, saw something on the right, parked the car and I looked to the left to see a Kite hovering over the field! It dove down, grabbed a rodent and took off south into the mist......we were so happy to be there at the right time!

Not my photo

Kites are like Harriers in habitat preference - open fields where they can cruise high then drop down. The next day we were lucky enough to catch the other really cool denizen of the open fields.........

We ended up with around 35 species including Rough-legged Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Horned Grebe, Common Ravens in abundance, and the usual waterfowl suspects like Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead, and Ring-necked Duck. While the ponds were good, the fields to the south were crawling with birds.....crows, ravens, harriers, herons, hawks all hunting for voles and earthworms.

We continued down the coast, stopping at Barview Jetty, Three Graces Wayside, Bay City Oyster Plant, and Bay Ocean Road. Our resource for the whole trip was the book Birding Oregon by my friend and co-worker, John Rakestraw. We hemmed and hawed about Oh Where Should We Go and John spelled it all out for us. Thank you!!

After shopping and dawdling Monday morning we returned to the sewage ponds up the road. They'd been so good the day before we thought another hour spent wouldn't be bad. So true! As we watched a couple of ravens in the air I noticed a flying bird that "wasn't quite right". Sure enough it was a Short-eared Owl! It circled higher and higher until it disappeared into the clouds. I've never seen an owl fly so high - another "right place, right time" sighting.

Not my photo either

Short-eared Owls, Harriers and Kites are all found in open country with ample rodent populations. The Owl, frequently a diurnal hunter, and Harrier hunt similarly by cruising low and dropping onto prey, while the Kite stays high and hovers. It was neat seeing all three in this small area. Lots of food to be had!

It was a great time and here's my complete bird list.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)
Brant (Branta bernicla)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Green-Winged Teal (Anas crecca)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Surfbird (Aphriza virgata)
Mew Gull (Larus canus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)

Total number of species seen: 60

Birding Hwy 101 - Lincoln City to Newport

Yesterday we took a drive out to the coast to check out some favorite birding sites between Lincoln City and Newport. I spent the summer of 1991 on this section of coast surveying timber sale units for Marbled Murrelets, and was happy to introduce my birding associate to some new places.
Using the fine publication, Birding Oregon, by fellow birder and blogger, John Rakestraw, we explored Siletz Bay, Boiler Bay and Newport Bay. I knew most of the spots already, but was happy to read about the very pleasant trail at Salishan Lodge that skirts the south end of Siletz Bay. Thanks, John!

Western Gulls outside Mo's at Siletz Bay. That's what they are, right? I need all the help I can get with gulls.

At the end of the nice trail at Salishan Lodge lies The Beach. The waves were high and mighty and this baby kelp couldn't hang on. I've never seen a washed up kelpling before......just the mighty Indiana Jones Bullwhip kind (scientific term) .

Then it was on to Boiler Bay Wayside. It's a prominent headland offering great views of birds below on the water as well as a few on the rocks. We saw both.



It even got sunny enough for a shadow! No, he's not trying to brain me with the scope.


The birds we saw on the rocks just beyond the protective fence were Black Turnstones, one of several species of "rockpipers". Three of them loafed about the rocks then decided it was bathtime.




As we scoped the rolling waters of the bay we found lots of birds.....Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Western Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, and Surf Scoter. One brownish duck caught our eye.

She wasn't a female scoter.
Then her male counterpart showed up...... and I tried to capture him in the rocking scope view......what do you think he is?

Oh what lovely chestnut sides......

Look at that striking face!


Yes, it was a pair of Harlequin Ducks! I don't often get to see these unusual ducks. They nest inland at higher elevation along swift rivers and winter on the ocean. The Cascades are at the very southern end of their breeding range but their wintering range extends south to coastal California.

Dang....that is one handsome duck.


Finally, once the waves had moved the ducks out of comfortable viewing range, we tore ourselves away and continued to Newport. There we drove out the South Jetty and looked for Long-tailed Ducks but I think it's too early for them. Well, it'll be an excuse for another trip later in winter! We did have nice late afternoon lighting on more Loons, Pelicans, Grebes and Cormorants. My birding associate, a proud Minnesotan, was not pleased with these drab winter plumaged Loons. Fortunately, one Common Loon had not entirely molted out of its breeding plumage so it was a striking black and white treat on the water.



Our last stop in the fading light was the trail behind the Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center. Out on the bay we saw a flock of 200 Double-crested Cormorants feeding on the water, many gulls resting on the sand then flying up to wheel around the sky, loads of Surf Scoters and a passing Bald Eagle. The treat here was a flock of Marbled Godwits actively feeding and calling. The light was so low that digiscoping them was difficult and this is the best I could do. Big bird, big bicolored bill. Beautiful.

The Oregon coast is great for birding in winter so pull on the rainsuit and get out there!