Hello all,
a few weeks ago, Oscar – a native of Coos Bay’s Barview area – pointed out
that the name “Fossil Point” has been misappropriated and (perhaps partly
due to an erroneously placed marker on Google maps) applied to the area
around the pump house just south of Pigeon Point (where the Dairy Queen is
located), best known as the location of Oregon’s only Common as well as the
recent King Eider. The other day, Oscar remembered that to long-time area
residents, including his late father, the entire cove on both sides of the
pump house has long been known as “Stinky Hollow” (and while this may not
have quite the same ring as “Fossil Point,” to someone who spends a good
chunk of his birding time at the local sewage ponds, it doesn’t sound all
that bad :)) This fact was confirmed by several current area residents, and
a little research showed that this name was actually used in December by at
least one party on eBird in describing the location of the King Eider.
The true “Fossil Point” is quite a long way south of the (apparently
nameless) little point directly south of the pump house pullout, and
referring to this area as “Fossil Point” is simply misleading. For the sake
of geographical accuracy, I therefore strongly suggest we start calling the
pump house pullout by its proper local name, “Stinky Hollow” (and I would
like to see the eBird hotspot name changed accordingly), to avoid any
confusion with the real Fossil Point.
Someone who is still bummed about missing the “Stinky Hollow” Common Eider!
Hendrik
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Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
*"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." -- Gary Snyder*
