Barview Jetty (Birding Oregon p. 125) forms the northern edge of the entrance to Tillamook Bay. It is a good site for viewing rock-loving shorebirds, gulls, and seabirds. The jetty was rebuilt last year, so the surface is now smooth enough that you can walk out all the way to the end. After the first few winter storms, most of the gravel and smaller rocks will wash away, leaving the jetty too rough to safely walk on. The photo was taken from the end of the jetty. I broke my first rule of jetty birding to take this picture; Never turn your back on the ocean. One never knows when a big sneaker wave will wash over the jetty, sweeping oblivious bird-nerds such as myself into the sea.
The only shorebirds visible on this visit were this flock of Red-necked Phalaropes swimming near the end of the jetty. A cold front had just gone through, creating strong NW winds. You might think those conditions would have brought in migrating shorebirds. But it has been my experience that cold fronts move out any shorebirds that have been staging in an area. It then takes several days for new migrants to trickle in. So the the longer it has been since the last cold front, the more likely it is that you will find larger numbers of south-bound migrants.
Two Harbor Seals were swimming in the channel, along with a few Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants, and a very distant Rhinoceros Auklet.
Ethical Birder 