Elegant Terns

Saturday night I read on the Internet that Elegant Terns were reported on the South Jetty in Newport.  Ever since the showing of the movie Big Year, most people assume that serious birders go to unbelievable lengths to chase after unusual sightings of rare birds as depicted in the film. I often explain to people, as well as tell myself repeatedly, that I don’t “chase birds”, rather just enjoy the birds that I find where ever I happen to be, and yet on Sunday morning I found myself bolting out the door and speeding off to Newport in search of the Elegant Tern. It’s classified as a rare bird in Oregon and would be a new listing on my Life List.  When I arrived in Newport I could barely see the jetty due to the fog.  An hour and a half of peering through the fog provided a few birds including Caspian Terns, but no Elegant Terns. As I was driving away I came across a birder who had found them on a finger jetty and I stopped and took some photos.  Not the best photo due to distance and fog, but a new Life Listing. In the time of year that many bird species are beginning to head South, the Elegant Tern who neither nests or winters here occasionally  makes a brief journey North up the Oregon Coast before turning around and going South for the winter.