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Haystack Rock and Nehalem Bay State Park

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To celebrate Jacob returning from school in Texas we decided to head to the coast for some tide pools, year birds, and a break from the hot sun.  Low tide at Haystack Rock was scheduled for sometime between 6 and 7 a.m. which was perfect to beat the crowds.  Our first wildlife in Cannon Beach was a couple of not-so-wild bunnies hanging out near the public parking.


We got out to Haystack Rock and quickly became absorbed in tide pool action, alongside the Western Gulls and a raccoon.


Raccoon on the go

 Chiton belly


Good ochre sea star action

The real tide pool highlight came when Jacob called me over saying he found a nudibranch!  We had never seen them before so we were psyched.  After finding a couple more one of the Haystack Rock Awareness volunteers came over and pointed out a ton more.  SO GOOD.

Opalescent nudibranch (the first one Jacob found)

 Jacob vs. nudibranch

 Another opalescent nudi

 Sea clown nudibranch

 Sea clown out of the water

 White-and-orange-tipped nudibranch

 Danger danger, I have…
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The 5MR must go on.

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A thick layer of dust had accumulated on my 5-mile radius list this summer and I decided it needed a sprucing, a revival, a brand new 5MR bird to bring it back from the dead.  Conveniently a Rough-legged Hawk has been hanging out by the Portland airport for months, often seen from Broughton Beach.  It didn't dawn on me that this was in my 5MR until Jacob saw it from his work (next to the airport) and I was like WAIT A MINUTE.  I finally made it over there recently to check it out.


Now, a Rough-legged Hawk in Portland in July is pretty wild so I was grateful when Carole Hallett posted the backstory on the bird on OBOL:

"It came from a nest site in Alaska the summer of 2016, spent some time in a rehab facility in Alaska as a result of an injury, and missed the opportunity to migrate south with its cohort.  It was flown to Cascade Raptor Center near Eugene where it spent additional time prior to release.  It was caught at PDX back in April or May of this year and released in Was…
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