[obol] Umpqua Estuary Paddle 7 Aug 2013, Douglas County
- From: Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2013 15:22:38 -0700
Hi Folks,
Yesterday, my two boys and I paddled from Salmon Harbor up to Gardner in
the Umpqua River Estuary. It was a nice time, but the fog came and went and
then came in a big thick drench just after noon, which drove us to Gardner
more quickly than I would have liked (after which it cleared beautifully!).
Anyway...
Changes noted from previous trip a couple weeks ago:
*WESTERN GULLS, including juveniles, have moved out into the estuary in
small numbers, joining the hundreds of CALIFORNIA GULLS.
*The very beginnings of waterfowl have arrived, though only groups of
dozens of MALLARDS. Waterfowl will continue to pick up through the fall.
Pintail and Green-winged Teal should arrive soon.
*Still low shorebird diversity, but greater numbers this time: 150
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (that didn't stay long enough for photos), 20
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, 25 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 80 LEAST SANDPIPERS. Least and
Western sandpipers were about half adult/half juvenile.
*In other highlights, just as we were entering the channel from Salmon
Harbor an ELEGANT TERN flew by going upriver, but we never saw it again.
Complete eBird checklist:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14883248
Some Flickr Photos (not many, as it was pretty foggy most of the time):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewghunter/sets/72157634985005473/
Matt Hunter
Melrose, OR
Other related posts:
