[obol] Lincoln Co. Birds

From: "Wayne Hoffman" <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>
To: "OBOL" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 17:38:27 -0700
A few sightings this afternoon from Yaquina Bay and near Alsea Bay.

 

Yaquina Bay South Jetty

 

Blue-winged Teal                             3  Female-plumaged, on the
water a short distance west of the Bridge.  They were initially near the
rocks, but drifted out toward the middle of the bridge as I watched.
Blue-wings are rare on the coast, and this seems a bit late as well.
Distinguished from the more expected Green-wings by the lack of buffy line
on undertail coverts, bill size and shape, and face pattern with quite a bit
of white near and below the bill.  From the also more expected Cinnamon Teal
by the smaller bill, forehead profile, more distinct facial pattern and
"colder" appearance without rusty tones.

 

Bayview Pastures                            These are near the intersection
of South Beaver Creek Road and Bayview Road, north side of Alsea Bay.

 

Western Canada Goose                75

Aleutian Cackling Goose               25  

Cackling Goose (minima)              2

Greater White-fronted Goose 18

Snow Goose                                      1  Adult

 

Bayview Loop shoreline                This road branches off Bayview about
0.3 mi. east of S. Beaver Creek Rd., and follows the bayshore a short
distance.

 

American Wigeon                            1100  Could not find any
Eurasians but were harshly backlit.

Black-bellied Plover                        1

Killdeer                                                 2

Greater Yellowlegs                          22

Lesser Yellowlegs                             1

SB Dowitcher                                     2

Ring-billed Gull                                  24  This is the largest
group of Ring-bills I can remember seeing on the outer coast.

 

 

Some more comments on the Bayview Geese.

 

These birds were seen in two areas.  The first is about one-half mile north
of Bayview on S. Beaver Creek Road  The Snow Goose was here, with about 50
Western Canada Geese.  The rest of the geese were seen from Bayview Road,
about 0.2 mi east of S. Beaver Creek Road.  

 

Aleutian Cackling Goose.  A group of 25-30 Aleutians wintered in this area
last winter.  I only saw them on this pasture, but they were not always
present, so they had to be ranging elsewhere.  I expect that over the next
decade we will see multiple new wintering sites for this form along the
Oregon Coast.

 

Greater White-fronted Goose.  A group of about 30 White-fronts wintered in
this area the past 2 winters, ranging from here up into the Beaver Creek
marshes.    I suspect this will become a permanent wintering site as the
Pacific Flyway population has expanded greatly in recent years.  The main
migration for the Pacific Flyway comes across the ocean from SW Alaska, and
nearly all the birds continue flying SE to the Klamath Basin before
alighting.  Most years a scattering of them "drop out" along the coast.
These are mostly juveniles and we think they are weak or unusually tired
birds.  Any adults that drop out usually disappear in a few days to weeks
(continuing their migration?), but some juveniles winter most years.  This
Bayview-Beaver Creek flock has included quite a few adults, so I think is
the nucleus of an expansion in wintering range.  Today the flock included
only 4 adults, so perhaps the others were elsewhere in the pastures, or had
not yet arrived?

 

Wayne
[obol] Lincoln Co. Birds

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