Skip to main content

My American Birding Adverture, Part 2

     After all of my family had gotten over our jetlag, we officially started our journey. Our first stop was Florence, Oregon.We went on a total of three very memorable birding trips.

Pigeon Guillemot, the fish in its mouth is for its young

 

The first spot was a place called Sea Lion Caves, a privately-owned tourist attraction since 1932! To get down to the actual caves you have to take an elevator and go down 10 stories.The caves are really dark, there is also a mesh wire between you and the wildlife. Even though it was dark, you can still hear the yelps of Pigeon Guillemots, and the occasional black silhouette flashing by. Insides the caves there weren't that many seals, only a couple of them chilling on the rocks. The other side of the caves were much more rewarding. There were hundred of cormorants, most of them either sitting on the bare rocks faces, or fishing in the water. There was also the Pigeon Guillemots with their red clown-like shoes, and its white wingbar in stark contrast with its jet black body. We also saw some Common Murres, its dagger bill and penguin-like coloring. Hidden amidst all the small guys, Dad was able to spot two Brown Pelicans, carrying their oversized bills.


Bald Eagle national bird of the U.S.A


A couple of miles down the road, we went to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. While we were on the beach, I was snapping pictures of a turkey vulture, when someone yelled, "bald eagle!!" I was about to correct them, when indeed the national bird flew majestically in front of me, I couldn't help but take a couple of pictures. On the next day with my family, we went to a beach area near our campground. There were many warning signs saying "Don’t go beyond this point, Snowy Plover breeding ground." Me and Dad kept our eyes peeled, scouring the sand for the birds. Sure enough, the target birds showed up, scurrying across the sand, with cute, plump little bodies, little beaks, and the tell-tale white plumage.We were all very excited by the presence of such an adorable bird. It was our lucky charm, because a few moments later, a flock of sandpipers landed on the beach.They weren’t  scared as we slowly approached them. Even though it was very foggy, we were able to make out they were Western Sandpipers and Sanderlings, both also occasionally seen in Taiwan!

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover with leg band

With our spirits high, we went to our last destination of the day, the Wax Myrtle Trail. Our luck was still with us, because we saw some cool bird behavior. Along the river, there were many fallen logs, occupied by different Belted Kingfishers. Because they are territorial, they were chasing each other around the whole time we were there. We also observed an Olive-sided Flycatcher feeding its young a dragonfly, which was super awesome and interesting. Probably the most memorable and disappointing thing was when we were heading back to the car, crossing a bridge, a small flock of finches landed on the tall trees in front of me. I had enough time to take a couple of pictures, one was in focus and you could definitely tell it was a female Red crossbill (the female is actually brown). It still features its namesake, the cross in its bill, used to pick out the seeds in pinecones. Very excited I yelled for Dad, but he was already ahead of me and didn’t hear me. When I caught up to him, the crossbills weren’t anywhere to be seen.

Olive-sided Flycatcher


Florence is a town definitely worth visiting, not just for the birding, the town is also very neat.I hope we will be able to visit again. 

~Article and photos by Isaac Lang 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Daxueshan

A Swinhoe's Pheasant If anyone ever were to ask: "What's your favorite birding spot in Taiwan?" I think I would have a lot of trouble answering the question succinctly, but Daxueshan would definitely be near the top of the list. I have only been there a few times, but every time I go there, it never ceases to amaze me. It is unique in that it has very diverse flora and fauna and with a road stretching from sea level to nearly 2500 meters, you can see lowland birds all the way up to alpine forest birds. The forest road going up Daxueshan is 50 kilometers long and there are birding spots all up and down its length.  A Collared Bush-Robin Daxueshan is renown for being the most reliable place to see nearly all of Taiwan's endemic bird species, including the Mikado Pheasant, Taiwan's national bird. It is a deep, rich blue and has the typically long tail of a pheasant, but unfortunately, I have only ever seen the duller, brownish female. Since almost all other endem...

Blue-winged Leafbird

In the next few blog posts, I will be talking about some cool birds that I saw. This particular post I will be sharing about the Blue-winged Leafbird. This bird is very attractive, it has a green back, crown, a yellow belly and breast, a blue-tipped wing, and a black throat. This Leafbird is usually found in broadleaf forests. It is related to fairy-bluebirds, birds I also saw in Malaysia. The Blue-winged Leafbirds are omnivores, mainly consuming insects and arthropods, and the occasional fruit. Besides that it is presumed to consume nectar as well. Leafbirds are interesting because they are one of the few birds that evolved in South-east Asia, and later spread to the himalayas and other parts of Asia.     I saw this bird on the second day in Kubah, around noon. It was before the pavilion where we were going to head back. There was a lot of commotion, and all sorts of different birds started to show up, Fulvettas, Orioles, Drongos and of course, two Blue-winged Leafbirds. It...

Kinmen

A Black Kite Most of Taiwan's offshore islands have a lot to offer in terms of birding; there are almost certainly birds there you can't see on the mainland of Taiwan. Of all of them, though, I think Kinmen is the best. Besides being Taiwan's largest offshore island, it is also very close to China, meaning you can see many birds that would otherwise only be possible to see if you went to China. These birds can travel the few kilometers to Kinmen but won't travel all the way to Taiwan proper.  A Eurasian Hoopoe Kinmen is very productive throughout the year. In the winter, the most interesting birds are the Great Crested Grebe, Red-throated Loon, Black-capped Kingfisher, Glossy Ibis, and many different kinds of cormorants. The summer also yields some very interesting birds, including the stunningly beautiful Fork-tailed Sunbird, the vividly colored Blue-tailed Bee-eater, the Pied Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, and of course, the iconic Eurasian Hoopoe. Blue-tailed...