Tim
You got in on the best coastal shorebirding a bit late. At one time the best
location was probably the at the south jetty of the Columbia River, The
shorebird spot there pretty much grassed over years ago. Yaquina Bay used to
have numbers of wintering Black-bellied Plover, Whimbrel, and several Willet.
Etc. etc. You have already mentioned the changes on the south coast. Kilchis
point does have shorebirds, but I have only birded it during the CBC, when the
numbers were low. I don't know what it is like during migration. During
migration in Lincoln County you can still find numbers of shorebirds on the
beaches just north of the Yaquina Bay jetty, south from about South Beach State
Park for a mile and a half, and at Sandpiper Village about a mile north of
Waldport. But the birding at those locations is spotty. Some days there will be
big flocks of birds, but the next day almost nothing, and after the early
morning hours the number of people and dogs on the beach keep the birds moving
around a lot. I wish I could tell you there was still a good estuarine
shorebird spot, but I don't think there is.
Darrel
From: "rabican1" <rabican1@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tim Rodenkirk" <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2020 6:53:34 AM
Subject: [obol] Re: Best Coastal Shorebirding in Oregon?
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 < [ mailto:timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx ;
| 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
