Cannon Beach, etc.

Yesterday morning I went out to Cannon Beach bright and early to beat the masses.  I wanted to hit up Haystack Rock and then head back into the coast range for some clearcut birding.


As I got closer I could see swarms of birds circling the rock.  A Bald Eagle was tearing things up!

Close call for that Common Murre

It's amazing that any birds get any nesting done here with the constant eagle harassment.  Even when both Bald Eagles were resting, a Peregrine Falcon filled in the gap in the chaos.  What looked like a dead murre was lying near the tidepools, getting snacked on by a Western Gull.


Hundreds of gulls are nesting (or preparing to nest) on Haystack Rock right now and I was treated to a nice view of some gull sexy time...




This went on for a very long time, until one of the Bald Eagles came back to stir the pot...


When I first got to the tidal pool area a Black Oystercatcher was hopping around, totally unfazed by me stalking it.  A pair are nesting on the rock, which I learned from this Haystack Rock blog I just found.



Probably the best cartoon eyes in the bird world.  Lots of other birds were around the rock like Pigeon Guillemots, cormorants, pelicans, Tufted Puffins.  The light mist in the air and rolling fog did not help photos, but here's a bad one of puffins anyway:


The mutts were definitely not impressed with this portion of the day (except for the dead bird).


I decided to stop at Ecola State Park before heading back inland...


I just like this pose.
I love twinberry.   So do hummingbirds.


They also like sticking their tongues out.


This Orange-crowned Warbler was letting it's orange crown out to play...



Stachys...mexicana?
We finally left the coast and headed back into the mountains, stopping at a clearcut by the David Douglas summit.



The bird highlights here were Willow, Pacific-slope, and Olive-sided Flycatchers, Western Bluebirds, Wilson's and mystery warblers, and a super low Turkey Vulture.

Coast monkeyflower?
Not many bird photo ops here, but that's okay.  At least the dogs are tired!  Good times!!

Comments

  1. Wonderful post. I love the Canon Beach shots.. The Black Oystercatcher and the Puffins are awesome.. Happy Birding.

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  2. Wiggy, that is some terrifyingly good shore birding, and I don't think I've ever seen the actual Orange Crown before.

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  3. An iconic Northwestern scene for sure...I just wanna see it!!!
    Great birds around too, the Puffins are so cool and the Oyster catchers-- we do have those on the Carolina shore its been way too long since I've seen any tho...awesome shot on the orange crown too!!

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  4. To a desert rat like me, any puffin photo is awesome!

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