Tillamook County Re-connect

 The luxurious living we experience at the Dallas Retirement Village has presented us with a strange predicament.  We get so involved in all the extracurricular activities that our calendar fills up.  Add to that all the medical appointments necessary to keep pace with age related problems, and the bottom line is that we don't seem to have the time to enjoy getting away in our camper van. We finally found a hole in our calendar of a few days and were determined to seek out some adventure. Weather made the coast our best choice, and because we usually travel south along the central Oregon Coast, this trip we decided to explore north in the Tillamook area.  I was surprised when we started adding bird observations, that this was the first time this year that we had been in Tillamook County, and the year is now half over! Below are some of the highlights.

Our first stop on Tuesday was at a fishing access point along the Little Nestucca River.  Our first birding visit here was in December of 2020. We were impressed, and sure we would return often, and yet this was our next visit. 

The trail along the river was filled with all kinds of bird sights and song.  A good example was this Common Yellowthroat male on his way to the nest with a larva for his babies. (Bird List)

Our next major stop was at the Clay Myers State Natural Area along Sand Lake. An unusual sighting here was this Great Blue Heron high overhead in a Spruce tree.(Bird List)  We last did this trail in Oct of 2021.

Our choice for camping our first night was at the Blue Heron Cheese Company in Tillamook.  It's a curtesy extended to travelers, and perhaps the best free overnight parking available in Tillamook County, where the county has instigated a $10 daily parking fee or $55 yearly fee at most recreational parking areas.

 

Our first stop of Wednesday morning was the Tillamook Hospital Hole Trail.  This juvenile Common Raven begging to be fed was one of the interesting sights. Interesting this same behavior was going on yesterday at our stop on the Little Nestucca. (Bird List)  Our last visit here was July 2022.

The Cedar Wetlands Preserve at Rockaway was our next major stop.  A small parking lot, but a outstanding board walk through lush vegetation, capped with a visit to the giant Western Cedar tree.

A pair of nesting Osprey here was the biggest surprise given there is no open water at the preserve.  (Bird List) Our last visit here was Jan 2021 

Our second night's parking was back at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company where the highlight was meeting two new friends with the exact red Winnibago Solis Pocket van that we have. However, they have lived and traveled in theirs full time for the past 15 months.

On Thursday, our first stop on our return route home was at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area. Unknown to us the gate does not open until 8:00AM. Luckily, we arrived at 8:10. Unfortunately, fog was the dominate weather, making bird photos almost impossible. Tiger Lily was the best I could do. (Bird List)  Our last visit here was April 2022

Traveling on south, the sun won out over the fog, making a stop at Bob Straub State Park a perfect place to park for lunch and cell service to get caught up with bird list submissions. 

A pair of White Pelicans caught my eye as we were parked. A rare sighting here at Pacific City, in fact the first ever report here, compared to the commonly seen Brown Pelican. (Bird List)  Our last visit here was April 2022

Our little get-away adventure was a great success.  In all we submitted e-Bird Observations for 12 different locations in Tillamook County with a total of 68 different species during our three-day visit.