Anniversary Birdathon!

 Tuesday, May 9th was our 30th Wedding Anniversary! Adventure has always been the central theme of our relationship, starting with bicycling, and bike touring.  It then grew to include hiking, backpacking, cross-county skiing, RV traveling, and now birding. To celebrate, I put together a trip along the Alsea River on winding Highway 34, with planned stops at eBird Hot Spots to bird in eight different parks along the route. 

Our first stop was Clemens Park.  This Benton County Park definitely set the tone of the day with its wonderful lush natural setting, inviting nature trail and secluded picnic sites alongside the Alsea River.

Stop #2 - Mill Creek Park. This Benton County Park is primarily a boat ramp, but with a nice, paved parking lot, toilet, and most importantly cell service. It is a must stop.

Violet-green Swallow

Stop #3 - Campbell Park, another Benton County Park with parking, toilet and boat ramp. Only one bar of cell service.

Stop #4 - Salmonberry Park & Campground. This is a Benton County Day Use Area with a large immaculate kept, reservation only campground with connecting riverside trail. Here our cell service ran out and we had to resort to a handwritten check list to keep track of the birds.  We have been totally spoiled to be able to list our bird findings, quickly and easily, on our iPhones.

Stop #5 - Missouri Bend Recreation Site.  This is a Bureau of Land Management location, with mainly a paved parking lot, toilet and sort path with a couple of picnic tables, and again no cell service. 

Stop #6 - River Edge Campground and Recreation Area. This site includes a large Group Campground, which was closed, and a small Day-Use parking lot, toilet and connecting trail to campground. No cell service.

Stop #7 - Blackberry Campground. This is a Siuslaw National Forest Campground. Here we had our largest list of birds. No cell service.

Stop #8 - Mike Bauer Wayside. This is an Oregon State Parks location.  Again, no cell service.

Eckman Slough

Stop #9 - Eckman Slough

Stop #10 - Eckman Lake the W.B. Nelson Wayside offers the best parking area at the lake. There is a parking lot, a boat dock, a toilet, and cell service. 

 

Stop #11 - Lint Slough Trail After a celebrity dinner of fish tacos, followed with a marionberry milkshake at SkoSH in Waldport, this trailhead was truly the last stop of the day.