Hello all,
Oscar Harper, Kai and Ben Frueh and I birded the Lincoln County coast
today. Our main target was the recently reported RUFF - during high tide,
we checked both the south end of Eckman Lake and the area along Bayview
Drive N of Waldport, where the bird had been seen on Wed and Tue,
respectively, but we came up empty-handed. Several Greater Yellowlegs and
Long-billed Dowitchers at Eckman, but no Ruff. Bayview Drive had a small
flock of American Wigeons with one bright male EURASIAN mixed in. Checked a
few other promising spots around the bay, but found no shorebirds anywhere.
We had better luck at the North Jetty in Newport, where we ran into a very
confiding LAPLAND LONGSPUR in the exact same spot where we had it on the
Yaquina Bay CBC on Dec 30. And the South Jetty gull puddle had a nice
immat. GLAUCOUS GULL, which briefly flew in, posed for us and then flew out
again. Also had a few HERRING and one THAYER'S GULL there (sorry, still
can't stomach to write "Iceland Gull"). 😉 Photos will be posted on eBird
later.
Otherwise, it was a slightly lackluster day with somewhat limited bird
numbers and diversity, not helped by the steadily deteriorating weather. We
were unable to turn up any crossbill flocks, not even a single Red
Crossbill.
Still a fun day on the coast, and always a nice way to start the year list.
:)
Good birding
Hendrik
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Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
*"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." -- Gary Snyder*
