I Used to Hate Birds

With summer heading into its final stretch I was itching to get in a little camping on Friday and decided, without any research, to head towards Sisters.  Unfortunately this lack of research led to me driving straight towards a wildfire burning just west of Sisters. 


My plan had been to take the long way along Highway 242 so when I turned off onto 126 (which leads to 242) I was relieved to find the smoke clear and blue sky return.  But 242 was closed.  For fire.  Time for a new plan.

 I noticed a few roads leading into Willamette National Forest along 126 and took one that looked like it might lead to somewhere I might want to camp.  Barely any humans were detected on these roads, maybe two trucks the whole rest of the day.  At one point three grouse flushed from the road. 


Sooties!  I was not sure what county I was in (it was Lane) but I figured it was a county bird.  Heh. 

The lack of people on these dusty roads really increased the appeal for me, along with occasional stunning …

For my birthday this year I decided throw a big old solar eclipse because why not?  I took the whole weekend off but then was afraid to go anywhere too far because of the scary traffic predictions.  Jacob and I decided to take a couple day trips, starting with one to the coast to look for some of the great shorebirds that had been reported.  Saturday morning began with a sliver of moon and then some delicious donuts from Donuts Plus.


Our first coast stop was Seaside Cove.


Black Turnstones were finally exactly where they were supposed to be, unlike the previous trips we had made there.


 We headed north to access the beach at Del Rey, then drove almost ten miles on the beach all the way to the Peter Iredale.  Shorebirds were pleasantly abundant, beginning with a pile of Semipalmated Plovers. 


There were also tons of Western Sandpipers, Sanderlings, and a lone Whimbrel.


Don't forget to use proper technique when photographing shorebirds but trying to stay dry at the same time:

Proper…