Sunday, August 6, 2023

Tufted Puffin - Puffling

A young Tufted Puffin (which is called a Puffling) peeks out from inside the burrow while an adult stands outside, at Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon in early August.

Pufflings spend about six weeks in the nest, being fed by their parents. Then they leave at night when it is safer from predators. The young birds are fully independent after leaving the nest, and will spend the next few years out at sea, only returning to the breeding colony when they are fully grown. -https://birdfact.com/articles/baby-puffins

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Red Knots

When I arrived at Trestle Bay (Ft. Stevens, parking lot D), around 3:30pm, there was a lot of sand exposed, allowing me to walk almost all the way out to the trestles (below).

But an hour later, the water was quickly filling back in (below).

Here is the view looking back towards the bunker and parking area when I first arrived and walked out there (below).

The water started to quickly fill in about an hour later, perhaps driven by the west wind (below). No one photo captures all of the birds. I counted about 600 birds in this photo (plus David Bailey & daughters in the background).

Saturday, May 8, 2021

Dowitchers

Long-billed Dowitcher
Adult in breeding plumage. Rufous belly; barred not spotted on sides of breast. White not running up as far on sides of lower covert feathers (compared to Short-billed Dowitcher). White fringe to feathers on breast and flanks

Short-billed Dowitchers
Adults in breeding plumage. White belly; spots on side of breast. More white running up sides of feathers on lower coverts (than on Long-billed Dowitcher).


Long-billed Dowitchers are a statewide migrant, and they also winter along the Oregon coast. Short-billed Dowitchers are seen during migration along the Oregon coast (and west of the Cascades) and they are rare in the rest of Oregon.

The birds in these photos were with a flock of about 70 dowitchers in Holbrook Slough, Warrenton, 5/8/21

Dowitcher Identification

Monday, March 22, 2021

Monday, December 21, 2020

Christmas Bird Count


I participated in the Christmas Bird Count in Astoria yesterday, counting every bird I could find all day long, for a total of 59 different species and 1,290 individual birds.

Anna's Hummingbird

Townsend's Warbler

"Begun in 1900 as an alternative to the traditional hunts of anything that flew during Christmas Day, hundreds of Christmas Bird Counts are now conducted throughout the Western Hemisphere, and they continue to contribute valuable scientific data to the longest existing records of bird population trends." -Portland Audubon website

Lincoln's Sparrow

Spotted Sandpiper

Monday, October 5, 2020

Ecola Creek Forest Reserve


Northern Pygmy-Owl

White-throated Sparrow

Hermit Thrush

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Road Trip!

Took a 2-week road trip to try to see some new Oregon birds, escape wildfire smoke (not entirely successful), and visit family in Colorado.

Summer Tanager, at a fruit stand in Kimberly, Oregon (near the Painted Hills and John Day), that had been around for about 2 weeks already. I searched for 30 minutes and got one glimpse, then continued searching. Finally, Alan purchased some fruit, and that did the trick! The bird immediately appeared on a branch above the fruit stand.

Plumbeous Vireo, rarely seen in Oregon, at Page Springs Campground near Malheur NWR. This species was also seen at Page Springs around the same time in 2017, 2018, and 2019. I tried several times before finally seeing it. On 9/22/20 around 10am, I heard it faintly call a couple of times near the river, so I crept closer to the sound and was looking for a place to stand in the shade, when I noticed the bird sitting on a branch about 3' off the ground, and only about 8' away from me!