[obol] Lane coast birds

[Alan Contreras]

I spent today birding the north Lane coast with Daniel Farrar.  Also met up
with Trask Colby and Ashlee Fleurmquist in the afternoon at Florence.

Tide was too high in the morning for gull flocks to have much space to
gather.  Lots of gulls sitting on the ocean.  From north to south:

Strawberry Hill: 5 Black Oystercatchers

Bob Creek: 7 Surfbirds, about 15 Black Turnstones

Bray Point: harlequins, flyby N Fulmar, not too far out, very white-phase
bird.  Of about 300 scoters, 90 percent White-winged.  About ten pelicans,
all northbound.

Stonefield: empty, high water.

Klootchman: female Black Scoter, harlequins, scoter ratios same as Bray
point, plenty of RT loons on water and in passage, a few Pacifics.  Small
numbers of murres here and there.  Another ten pelicans northbound,
different mix.

Baker Beach Rd.: V Rail, Townsend's Warbler, small numbers of chickadees
etc.  On the trail west past the horse staging area, a mixed flock of
Golden-crowned Sparrows, juncos, kinglets, marsh wren in dead brush south of
trail halfway to dune line.  GC Sparrow can be hard to find in outer coastal
Lane this late in the season.  Also lots of yellow-rumps along the north
trail.

McDonald's: You laugh, but the large parking lot just east of the McD in
north Florence often has the best gull variety in the city, including
Glaucous.  Today it had 2 Cal, 15 G-wing, 1 adult and 1 second-year Herring.
That plumage of Herring is not very common.

North Jetty: 1 RN Grebe, 6 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Horned Grebe, 10
Bufflehead, 2 Common Loon, 1 distant loon that seemed sort of Yellow-billed
in shape but was too far off for a decent view.  It was feeding near the
final westward bend in the river, which is where most of the action was.

-- 
Alan Contreras
EUGENE, OREGON

³Be naughty, save Santa a trip.²

acontrer at mindspring.com
www.OREGONREVIEW.BLOGSPOT.COM ­ Social Commentary
www.CONTRERASBIRDS.BLOGSPOT.COM ­ Current Bird Photos