From Oceanside to Cape Meares

On Wednesday, May 15, we finished our Black Oystercatcher site surveys. First thing in the morning (after chores), we returned to our viewpoint on the north side of Cape Lookout to check the offshore rocks when the sun was behind us instead of shining in our eyes. Still no BLOY.

Then it was up the coast past Netarts Bay to Oceanside, which we hit just at low tide. We hiked through the tunnel and found a pair of BLOY feeding on an exposed tidal rock. At the same time we were looking at them, friends John and Barbara were just north at Short Beach looking at five more. It was nice to have someone glassing Short Beach at the same time we were at Oceanside so we would be sure that there were, indeed, seven BLOY in the area and not two that flew from one area to the next to be counted again.

After lunch at Brewin' in the Wind at Oceanside, a favorite rendezvous spot with Tillamook friends John and Barbara, we all drove north to Short Beach, where we found five BLOY still hanging out. For some reason, gulls and BLOY love the fresh water that flows into the ocean from a reservoir up in the hills. They drink and bathe and splash. Here are two BLOY enjoying a dip along with many gulls.

 Farther north on the beach, another pair were foraging on an exposed rock. They had just flown from the north end of the rocky beach, where another BLOY was still poking around.

Then we were off to Cape Meares, where John and Barbara have been keeping watch on the nesting peregrines and nesting Black Oystercatchers... for many years. The peregrines were out of sight this day but two pair of BLOY were each hanging out in their usual nesting areas, one on the north toe of the cove and one on the south toe. Neither pair are nesting yet.

For an unknown reason, I took few photos this day. Perhaps because I have so many photos of the area. (For previous trips with more photos, check out: http://lindafink.blogspot.com/search?q=Short+Beach,  http://lindafink.blogspot.com/2013/01/from-octopus-tree-to-short-beach.html )  Or perhaps because I was starting to wear down from our marathon BLOY surveying. In fact I was so tired, I let Johnny drive home while I slept the whole way.

I love the coast and surveying Black Oystercatchers, but... it has been time since then to stay home and get something done on the farm... like weed and mow and plant. And, on this past moonlit Sunday night, survey Nightjars. That story another time.