One spot I think is under-birded is Kilchis Point Reserve in Tillamook
County. It is a very difficult place to bird due to:
1 Sun is always right in your face
2 Low tide is needed
3 Maybe a .8 mile walk out to site
4 Even if you hit it all right, birds are way out on mudflat, so carry a
scope.
5 One benefit is you walk through a very nice coastal woods to get to point
However I suspect it is where most of the wintering peeps feed during low
tides on Tillamook Bay. That might be complete baloney. At high tide the
wintering Leasts hang out very well hidden on the BayOcean Spit.
Bob Archer
PDX
On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 5:38 AM Tim Rodenkirk <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
So I saw the thread on good shorebirding in Oregon and had to wonder,
where are the best locations now since I don't get out of the south coast
that often birding anymore? Alan mentioned that the Tillamook area was a
great location in the 60s through the 80s. On the South Coast I discovered
shorebirding in the fall of 1997 and was lucky to live in the epicenter of
some awesome birding at Bandon Marsh NWR and North Spit Coos Bay in the
1990s and early 2000s. Bandon Marsh NWR, as some may remember, has about
1/2 the Bar-tailed Godwit records in Oregon (or did so for a long time) and
had annual birds such as Ruff, Stilt Sand, Sharp-tailed Sand, Curlew Sand,
etc. Large flocks of godwits and curlews were regular. Coos Bay was
awesome during that time also, with large wintering flocks of godwits, an
occasional curlew, and even American Avocet at Pony Slough a few winters.
The gem was North Spit Coos Bay which I birded three hundred days/year for
many years (I am trying to catch up on eBird just that one site which has a
few thousand records I need to enter- it is slow, as I trip so many rare
bird filters, high counts, etc.). The birding out there was great but as
many know the habitat has totally changed so birds like Buff-breasted Sand
no longer can be expected. When will we find the next flock of 16
Buff-breasted Sandpipers in Oregon? Flocks of 5-10 golden-plovers were
regular but I should refrain from mentioning the long, long list of
rarities from out there- many almost regular.
That was in the 1990s and early 2000s. Something changed about 10 years
ago and Bandon Marsh is pretty slow anymore as is Coos Bay.
Now it seems like Fern Ridge is the best shorebirding spot at least when
water levels are right, but of course it is not coastal. There appears to
be some other great shorebirding locations in the valley also. Is Newport
the best coastal wintering location now? The big flock of godwits seem to
be there now, not sure if there are large numbers of other wintering
shorebirds there? Are there other locations that are pretty busy in winter
on the north coast now?
Just wondering where the "best" coastal shorebirding is these days?
Happy shorebirding all!!!
Tim Rodenkirk
Coos Bay
