Siletz Bay NWR

Tuesday, August 4th we attempted to escape the extreme heat and smoke of the Willamette Valley with a trip to the Lincoln City area. It was cooler, but still a considerable amount of smoke. We concentrated mainly on the Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge area, with this first stop at the Siletz Keys, an easily overlooked location with a small parking lot. 

The first bid I spotted was this Great Blue Heron. Not so sharp looking, it is actually an immature, still lacking the white stripe on top of its head.

Next, I spotted this Great Egret, notable because they have become so much more common in the last two decades as their populations have expanded north.

Here is the link to our Checklist. We also birded at Alder Island, just on the other side of Highway 101. Here is our Checklist for Alder Island.

Bird Ramblings - Doves

On July 30th I photographed this pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves as they were sharing a romantic moment atop the roof of The Lodge. Eurasian Collared-Doves are somewhat unique in that they can breed year-round. They have already bee successful in nesting once this summer and possibly more. The amount of time they are spending in this courtship has me convinced they will soon be setting up another nest site soon.