The Mountain Plover was at its usual spot just north of the day use
beach access at South Beach SP 2:40 pm with an entourage of one SNOWY
PLOVER and a SEMI-SOCIAL SANDERLING. I seem to have been the only birder to
dip on the MOPL Jan. 2, CBC day for Newport. That day there was also a
Sanderling with the Snowy Plover when they fed in the drift at the high
tide line. At one point a flock of Sanderlings was nearby. The lone bird
ignored them. Today I immediately lost track of the single Snowy , but the
Sanderling maintained loose contact with the MOPL the twenty or more
minutes I was watching.
When a group of five strollers walked right up on the Mountain Plover
it casually stepped aside without acknowledging them. Then it continued
foraging into the wind, slowly moving due south until it was too close to
focus my binocular. I presume it was catching insects, which it not only
took off the sand, but out of the air, and off of driftwood, often reaching
under pieces with exposed bottom.
Tide was coming in fast, near high, at the south jetty when I saw a
Long-tailed Duck just east of the big groin. There seems to be one that
reaches a lot further out into the channel. In close to fifty years of
birding in Oregon this may be the fifth time I've seen Long-tailed Duck. By
far the best look I've had.
There were about fifty Brown Pelicans on the groin. Not used to that
in January. I wish I'd arrived earlier as the day had been lovely. Heavy
rain made me quit birding an hour ahead of dark. The gull puddle at south
jetty held less than two score birds, ascribable to a paltry two species,
the expected Western and Glaucous-winged. But the percentage of ambiguous
immature gulls was impressive. Lars
