Another Secret of Toledo

 The last two weeks have been jam packed with all kinds of doctor appointments and family events, and the upcoming week looks to be equally full. Monday was wide open, and we made a quick decision to break away for a day-trip to the coast for a kind of reset. Once again, Toledo was on our radar, with a loop through Newport and up the coast to Lincoln City and back home. Our first stop was at East Slope Park in Toledo for a bird walk along Olalla Slough.  (Checklist).

Next, was a stop to bird the Depot Slough Path along the Toledo waterfront, a continuing favorite. A surprise here was the Port of Toledo is dredging out the channel. The dock, and all the boats have all been moved out to make room for the dredging operation. Despite the major interruptions to the area, we still found a fair number of birds. (Checklist)

And here is the "secret", which I question my sanity somewhat to reveal, except that I know a good number of people, particularly family and friends that love to canoe, kayak, and paddle board, that would appreciate knowing about Paddle Park. The Port of Toledo has built a number of parks, among them is Paddle Park. Check on this link. This looks to be a wonderful location, but at this point, under used, to launch your watercraft, or just enjoy a picnic, and of course, look for birds. 

A quick bird check added to the inventory of birds to be seen here (Checklist)

 

From Paddle Park we continued on along scenic Yaquina Bay Road to Newport, and then up the coastline, stopping at Boiler Bay State Park with a great ocean-view for our lunch stop. (Checklist)

After lunch it was on to the Alder Island Trail at Siletz National Wildlife Refuge for our last birding stop of the day. (Checklist) 

We were back home to Dallas Retirement Village in late afternoon in time for dinner in the Timber Grill.