The Oregon Coast. What descriptive word could you come up with that would describe it's beauty and wonder adequately? I cannot think of one, as there is not one that could do it sufficiently. The journey today sent us south on the coast from Lincoln City to just north of Newport, where we hope to be tomorrow at the Oregon Marine Aquarium... for starters.
So chronologically... we stopped first at Devil's Lake State Park. Don't get idea that all of Oregon's state parks are for camping. No,No!!! Many are for day use only and can be very small. This one was a boat launch and that was about it. (see below) Not much was moving in the woods there , and neither was there anything moving on the lake. So that took us to...
The Siletz River/Kernville NWR. Here we could stay by the side of the road , see the marsh on one side and the river on the other . Some VIOLET GREEN SWALLOWS were active, and we did spot a MARSH WREN which was singing it's head off and a BELTED KINGFISHER. They are furtive and seldom are seen so that was a good find. A woman was coming up the side of the road toward us, with a large bag in her hand and a "picker upper" pole in the other. We engaged her in conversation as she neared and found that she was trying to get herself back on track after she had lost her wallet , which was returned with no money in it, So she took to collecting cans and turning them in for cash, The $23.00 she said she got yesterday helped her get through some days. One wonders what the whole story might have been. Prayers for her tonight.
Here are a few photos from those spots.
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| This is a portion of Devil's Lake NWR. Many homes are here as it is just outside Lincoln City. |
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| The marsh at Siletz River where we saw the Marsh Wren |
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| A map of the area of Siletz River. |
Continuing south led us to Boiler Bay and Rocky Creek lookouts at the Ocean. Both steep inclines to drive there but only a 1/4 mile off of US 101.
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| Looking hard in the upper left you could see a Gray Whale spout... |
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| Or... the Gray whale just descending at the right in this photo. |
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| Zoom in for a look at a Black Oystercatcher, the only kind on the West Coast. |
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| Boiler Bay lookout shows the rugged coast. |
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| Looking downstream (Siletz R) toward the US 101 bridge. Swallow boxes on pilings. Pilings from old logging operations in the early 1900's |
The last two stops were suburb. Devils Punch Bowl and Yaquina Head and the Lighthouse. On the large rocks at Yaquina there are 10,000's of Common Murres nesting on the any rocks . Some at Punchbowl but not nearly as many. There are also MARBLED MURRELETS, BRANDT'S CORMORANTS, and a few PIGEON GUILLEMOTS. At Yaquina Head we saw two AMERICAN BALD EAGLES, sitting , waiting for their next meal to appear, With all these birds around them, they will not get hungry. The Brandt's Cormorant has a unique blue patch under the chin especially during breeding season, a few other birds have this same feature as the GREAT EGRET does. See also a RAVEN that landed just next to us at the lighthouse.
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| The Raven flew up quite close with a mouthful of nesting material. |
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| Devil's Punchbowl that the water has created over the millenia. |
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| Dogs and puppies were quite an attraction at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. |
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| Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Not functioning at this time. Established in 1873 it had three lighthouse keepers (Head,1st Asst and 2nd Asst.) The First Order Fresnel Lens was made in Paris .Two of the three buildings are no longer there. It has a range of 37 nautical miles and stands at 93 feet the tallest on the Oregon Coast. |
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| A few of the birds. These are the Brandt's Cormorants . Can you see the blue on a few of them under the beak? |
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| Some of the 10,000 Murres on these rocks. |
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| More of the 10,000 Common Murres on the rocks. Q. Why is the word 'Common' used in connection with birds? A. The bird must be common to North America and Europe both. |
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| Two American Bald Eagles keeping watch. |
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| More of the Common Murres on another rock. |
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Tomorrow we hope to get to the Oregon Marine Aquarium. This will be indoor photos so a different slant.
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