[obol] Juv. CA Gulls and other coastal news

[David Bailey]

17 July 2008

Single juvenile CALIFORNIA GULLS started showing up on the central coast 
11 July (Coos and Lane Counties) and a trio of them were on the beach in 
Seaside (Clatsop Co.) yesterday. They are handsome in their fresh 
plumage. Their bills are all dark at this age and will change to 
two-toned in a month or so.

VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS are tending chicks in the nest box attached to our 
gutter in Seaside. The Necanicum Estuary hosted 300 PEEPS and a few 
dozen SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, a GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and a couple WIMBREL 
yesterday. HEERMAN'S GULLS are flocking on the beaches here too. A singe 
BLACK TURNSTONE was on the rip-rap in the Necanicum River mouth 
yesterday as well.

Lots of WESTERN SANDPIPERS were calling overhead last night as they 
moved south. Hint: Listening for migrating shorebirds is a good way to 
add species to your yard list, even if you live in areas away from the 
coast or shorebird staging areas.

4 of July weekend I visited the light house at Haceta Head. On the 
wetern-most visible off-shore rock I spotted several TUFTED PUFFINS 
flying south to north around to the western side of the rock as if they 
were going to burrows on the obscured west or north sides of the monolith.

That is all for now,
David

David C. Bailey
Seaside and Florence, Oregon