[obol] Greater Yellowlegs & Other Birds Other Newport

[Cindy Ashy]

Dick Demarest led a nice Audubon field trip today mostly along the Hatfield
Nature Trail. I hope he'll post all the songbirds we saw because I did not take
notes. We got a very close look at an Osprey sitting on a log eating a fish and
watched several Caspian Terns diving for fish....there was also a Bald Eagle,
several Turkey Vultures, and few Northern Harriers (all female, one carrying a
rodent) hunting. At the end of the trip, we saw about 12 large shorebirds on
the far east side of the bay but couldn't quite make them out because the light
was very harsh and the heat radiating up distorted the view but we were about
95% sure they were Whimbrels....I stayed a little longer and one flew closer
and I got a better look...they were indeed Whimbrels.

The bird of the day for me was found on the periphery of a large congregation
of Caspian Terns.....a single Greater Yellowlegs....the sun washed out the
yellow of the legs but it was the right size, right shape (long slender very
slightly upcurved beak) and I know for sure because it called when it flew.

Also took a quick trip to Yaquina Head....saw a really cute cormorant chick
almost dead center of the top of Lion's Head plus a couple of murre
chicks....found a few more behind the lighthouse...also found that a few more
gull chicks had hatched. No eagles while I was there but you know they've got
to be tempted now.

Cindy Ashy

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