Sadly, today was our final full days birding in the Oregon before we head back across the state line and into Washington for some sightseeing in Seattle.
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| View from the South Jetty Observation Platform |
Currently located at 'Seaside' we decided to stay local today visiting both the nearby Fort Stevens State Park and Columbia Estuary. At the south Jetty of the Columbia River an observation platform gives excellent panoramic views. The jetty stretches across Jetty Lagoon, also called Trestle Bay, from Point Adams out towards the Columbia Bar, and for part of the way is accompanied by the ruins of a wooden trestle, which carried the trains used in the jetty’s construction.
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| Raccoons obviously use the shelter of the rocks to forage! |
It was certainly a little choppy today but it didn't seem to bother the many Caspian Terns, Brown Pelicans and shore bird flocks that flew by. In fact it produced a special moment for Dee and I when three Grey Whales passed through, unfortunately at distance but blow holes, tail fins and all!
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| Black Turnstone's at rest - Completely asleep unfortunately! - Photo: By Dee |
After the jetty we took a walk along the rock breakers and managed a quick record shot of two Black Turnstone's at rest, before the above Raccoon spooked them. A number of Bald Eagles, another icon of our travels here came by during our walk and many of the species already noted in previous posts were seen so I won't bore my reader with a list on this occasion.
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| Black-throated Gray Warbler - Another welcome addition to our birding list. - Photo: By Dee |
We also took in one or two trails in the hope of adding a few more passerines, sadly lacking in numbers during our tour and almost drew a blank, until a Black-throated Gray Warbler suddenly appeared at tree top level, record shot above. A 180 mile drive to Seattle awaits and at this stage our bird species total currently stands at 173, with many special memories! I'll post a final summary of what has been an incredible journey upon my return to the UK in a few days time, so for now its AU REVOIR!
