[obol] Lane Coast Birds

[Alan Contreras]

I spent the day birding around Florence today.  Until about 10 a.m. It was
cool, quiet and quite birdy.  After noon it was hot, noisy and peopley.

Best Birds: Lesser Goldfinch, Eur Col Dove

I ran into several other birders from various parts of the state; they may
post also.

Dotterel Dike had zilch (well, a couple of snipe and 200 American
Goldfinches) when I was there from 2 to 3:30 p.m., Stotzes saw a STILT
SANDPIPER there in the morning.  D-plain was empty all day (multiple
observers)

Crab Dock Cove had a heard-only LESSER GOLDFINCH, a very good bird in
coastal Lane.  The sound came from an area that also had Americans, but I
never saw the Lesser.  There has been a mockingbird in that general area, so
perhaps add one grain of sea-salt to the report.

The cove hosted a Marbled Godwit that is quite pale, though long-billed and
large.  At first it gives the impression that it might be a Bar-tailed.
Then it flies and shows its color.  Also there, or flying over, were 8
Short-billed Dows, 6 Semi Plovers, 25 Western Sandpipers and 5 Black
Turnstones on the rocky spur.  Two small flocks of southbound Whimbrels went
by.  A very small Peregrine went over, as did a very obvious EURASIAN
COLLARED DOVE, which I had carefully avoided in Lane County until now.  It
has been along s jetty rd. much of the summer.

A Purple Martin also flew over. This is a bird that I used to see every year
at this time in small numbers over the D-plain and s jetty area; the last
two years they have been very hard to find.

Dog Pond had a G Yellowlegs, pintail and GW Teal.  In the early morning, it
also had a huge overhead swarm of swallows and swifts.  A big movement of
Barn Swallows went on all morning, with smaller numbers of VGs and one Tree.

Kay and Joanne from Powell Butte found three Ruddy Turnstones on the beach;
they also spotted a murre south of the s jetty, almost the only bird on the
water other than scoters.

-- 
Alan Contreras
EUGENE, OREGON

acontrer at mindspring.com
OREGONREVIEW.BLOGSPOT.COM

Nostalgic for Nixon....