Newport, Oregon

California Sea Lions videographed with the Nikon Zfc and Z DX 50-250 f/4.5-6.3 Zoom lens

While visiting my granddaughter at Oregon State University, my son and I went for a day trip with her and her friend to the coast town of Newport. I could probably spend a week there and have enough material to fill my blog for a month! Oregon is a beautiful state that is a natural wonderland. This was only my second trip out here but I think if I ever had to leave my home state of New York, Oregon would be right up there as a top alternative. The video clip above is not in a zoo or special preserve. The dock is a place located right behind a very good restaurant where California sea lions congregate for 11 months out of the year. These are mostly adult males with a few sub-adults mixed in. In July, they all vacate the area and head out to there breeding grounds. After making sure that the species will flourish in the future, the males return to the exact same spot to commingle (not always so peacefully I might add) for the rest of the year. There is a jetty a little further off shore where those who did not get this choice real estate go and spend their year, but this spot certainly must be considered the best game in town by these pinnipeds.

Outside the city proper, we visited an overlook high on the bluffs over the Pacific known as “Devil’s Punch Bowl”. The area is very popular with the surfing crowd, but the birds are more than happy to share the environs with the humans. The sedimentary rock strata is seen is this shot and the tilting layers are easily eroded by the pounding surf. The “punch bowl” was formed as two sea cave roofs collapsed. Driving out to this site, we found evidence of recent erosion and slide activity as the road was undulating beneath the vehicle. Erosion has left a number of promentories and sea stacks off shore which serves as home to many sea birds.

I don’t get out to the west coast as often as I would like, so it’s always a real thrill to spend some time scouring the shoreline for some new year-birds or even a lifer. Having my son and granddaughter along makes it all the more special as they also revere the outdoors and this special place and its inhabitants. One of the first birds we spotted out on one of the promontories was the Western gull, a bird we certainly don’t get to see over on the east coast.

Our next west coast speciality was this group of Pelagic cormorants. Compared to the Double-crested cormorants we commonly see on the east coast, these are small, slender seabirds. They inhabit coastal waters along the Pacific coast of North America, from Alaska to California, often nesting on steep cliffs or rocky islands as seen here. These birds are expert divers, using their webbed feet to chase fish underwater with remarkable agility. During the breeding season, pelagic cormorants develop distinctive white throat patches and facial skin which are absent during the fall. Their diet primarily consists of small fish and marine invertebrates, which they catch during short, frequent dives close to shore.

Next up, the Norther flicker. Although we do find this bird commonly in the east, the western birds differ in that they sport red-shafts on their wing and tail feathers while the eastern counterparts have yellow-shafts. The nape of the western bird is also gray rather than the red that is typical of the eastern yellow-shafted birds. This flicker was foraging probably for ants or beetles, but if he sticks around when it gets a bit colder, he’ll also take advantage of any berries or seeds.

Northern flicker - a representative of the Western red-shafted population

And last bit certainly not least in today’s lineup is the beautiful Harlequin Duck. The Harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck known for its striking and colorful plumage. Males display a unique pattern of slate blue, chestnut, and white markings, making them easily distinguishable from other duck species. These ducks are typically found in fast-moving streams and coastal waters in North America where they forage for aquatic invertebrates, small fish, and crustaceans. Adapted to turbulent habitats like here at Devil’s Punch Bowl, Harlequin ducks are strong swimmers and divers.

Harlequin Duck flying over the turbulent waters of the Devil’s Punch Bowl

Tommorow, we’ll venture further inland to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge located at the confluence of the Santiam and Willamette Rivers in the hopes that some of the migratory birds will have found their wintering grounds there by now. It will definitely provide us with different habitat and its associated bird assemblages. Stay tuned……