On April 26th, Jeannine and I plus the pups, headed to the Oregon Coast. We stayed at a house right on the coast with beach access and about 2 km north of Ona State Beach and a few more south of Newport. I’ve always admired the Pileated Woodpecker and I saw a few during my stay in Oregon. This one I found in a small park north of Coos Bay and he landed right next to me. It was foggy so I had to lower the shutter speed to 1/500s but with the image stabilization the bird remained sharp.
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) - William M Tugman SP, COO (OR)
EQ: Nikon D850, Nikkor 500mm f/4.0, with 1.4 TC, Taken: 5-9-2025 at 7:37
Settings: 700mm (35mm eqv), 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO1600, +1 EV, Conditions: foggy
It has been many years since I’ve seen the Pacific Coast but when I was living in Boulder Creek I was constantly birding from Monterey to Half Moon Bay California. So it was nice to see some familiar shorebirds in my first week and it turned out that it was the tail end of the spring migration. Here are a few photo from the Siletz Bay and River area.
Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, and Black Turnstone (left to right) - Siletz Bay, LIN (OR)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) - Siletz Bay, LIN (OR)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) - Boiler Bay State Wayside, LIN (OR)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) - Siletz Bay, LIN (OR)
Purple Martin (Progne subis) - Siletz Bay NWR - Alder Island, LIN (OR)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) - Siletz Town, LIN (OR)
We had great views from the house on the cliff above the beach with most days being foggy but we had a few sunny days and nice sunsets. We saw Bald Eagles and Osprey almost every day as well as 6 species of swallows plus Vaux and Black Swifts at Ona Beach. The pups really like the walks on the beach and the house.
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) - Coast Hwy 101 at SE 143rd St, LIN (OR)
North Coast View - Coast Hwy 101 at SE 143rd St, LIN (OR)
Mr D (Diesel) - Coast Hwy 101 at SE 143rd St, LIN (OR)
Miss K (Kyanne) - Coast Hwy 101 at SE 143rd St, LIN (OR)
Oregon Coast Sunset - Coast Hwy 101 at SE 143rd St, LIN (OR)
What’s nice about the Pacific Coast is you can be on the beach and minutes later you can be in the forest. Beaver Creek, which flows into the ocean at Ona Beach, and the Beaver Creek State Park is only a couple miles from the beach and spring flowers were in bloom. Between Ona Beach and Beaver Creek area I saw 71 and close to 100 species, respectively. I really liked the Wood Ducks and I was able to capture a Warbling Vireo singing with blossoms in full color. It was the first time I saw Elk and there were a few herds in the area.
Monkey Flower (Mimulus guttatus) - Beaver Creek Natural Area - Loop Trails, LIN (OR)
Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) - NF31 Flynn Creek Area, LIN (OR)
Great Egret (Ardea alba) - No Beaver Creek Rd, LIN (OR)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) - No Beaver Creek Rd, LIN (OR)
Elk (Cervus canadensis) - Beaver Creek, LIN (NV)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) - No Beaver Creek Rd, LIN (OR)
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) - Beaver Creek Natural Area - Loop Trails, LIN (OR)
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) - No Beaver Creek Rd, LIN (OR)
Farther inland, I found Warblers, a Dipper, Turkeys, and Purple Martins all on a loop up the Alsea River and back through Newport. The Chestnut-back Chickadee was my spark bird or the bird that got he hooked on birding and I was pleased to find them as well as the Black-capped Chickadee and Wrentits.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) - Siuslaw River - North Jetty Mudflats, LAN (OR)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) - Baker Beach, LAN (OR)
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) - Stables Rd, DOU (OR)
American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) - Alsea Fish Hatchery, BEN (OR)
Purple Martin (Progne subis) - William L Finley NWR, BEN (OR)
Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis) - NF-3010 West Ridge, BEN (OR)
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) - Mike Miller CP, LIN (OR)
There are numerous rivers and bays along the Oregon Coast and I checked out 5 north and south of Newport. The one I went to the most was the Yaquina River and Bay that flows past the south end of Newport. It was nice to see the Brown Pelicans, Brandt’s, Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants. In addition, there were sea ducks like Scoters, Harlequin and Long-tailed Ducks as well as loons in alternate plumage.
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) - Yaquina River - North Shore, LIN (OR)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) - Mark Hatfield Marine SC and Estuary Trail, LIN (OR)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) - Yaquina Head ONA - Lighthouse, LIN (OR)
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty, LIN (OR)
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
The Oregon's coast bridges were constructed as part of the 1930s New Deal under the guidance of engineer Conde B. McCullough. These bridges replaced ferries and completed the Oregon Coast Highway (US 101) opening the coast to vistas, beaches, and sites of the beautiful Art Deco and Gothic Revival design element bridges.
Yaquina Bay Bridge at Newport, OR
Main Span of the Yaquina Bay Bridge at Newport, OR
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Common Loon (Gavia immer) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) - Yaquina River - SW Jetty Way, LIN (OR)
Your comments are welcomed and if you have any questions about these photos or any other leave me a message.