Tag: Ochre Sea Star

Tillamook Bay, 9/24/11

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites


I took my Portland Audubon class to Tillamook Bay (Birding Oregon p. 125). We found strong winds, high tides, and rough seas, but the weather was warm and mostly sunny. This photo was taken on the bayside of Bayocean Spit. The water was high enough to cover the mudflats, so we didn’t find any shorebirds, but we did find good numbers of gulls loafing in the shallow water.


Here is a first-cycle California Gull with two adult Western Gulls and a probable third-cycle Western Gull.


The largest concentration of birds was at the Bay City Oyster Plant. This little jetty was covered with gulls, Brown Pelicans, and Black Turnstones.


Western Gull, two Heerman’s Gulls, and a California Gull


Brown Pelicans


juvenile Brown Pelican and Heerman’s Gull


We found at least four Black Oystercatchers at the Three Graces Tidal Area.


At Barview Jetty, the rough seas and howling winds kept the expected seabirds out of the channel. But the big waves did reveal lots of Ochre Sea Stars.


This lone Black Turnstone was the only shorebird we found braving the rough conditions.

Bayocean Spit

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

It had been a while since I had walked all the way around Bayocean Spit (Birding Oregon p. 128). This is a great walk which takes about four hours, assuming you stop and look at birds along the way.

This morning was one of those misty gray days when the sky blends into the ocean. The fog and drizzle make photography rather difficult, giving everything a blurry grainy look. The dark line on the horizon is the south jetty. The crane in the distance is working on the end of the north jetty.


Shorebirds were few and far between this day. This is an adult Black-bellied Plover.


Western Gulls


California Gulls


The rocks of the jetty are home to many Ochre Sea Stars.


Brown Pelicans are constantly being harassed by other birds, especially Heerman’s Gulls, which make their living stealing fish from the pelicans. In this photo we see a young Western Gull, three Heerman’s Gulls, a Glaucous-winged Gull, and a Pelagic Cormorant, all hoping the Brown Pelican drops his fish. Notice the Heerman’s Gull hanging on to the pelican’s feet.


Brown Pelican with his posse.


The woods and brushy areas on Bayocean Spit are home to Wrentits. These birds tend to remain hidden in heavy cover, but their loud and unique vocalizations are heard throughout the year. This bird sat still just long enough for my point-and-shoot camera to get off one shot at 1/13th of a second.