birds of the northwest

This week, my family took a trip to the Oregon Coast. Yes, it was a little drizzly, but the ocean is always there, rain or shine. We went to bird watch anyways. Most of the sea birds do not mind a little drizzle. One of the sites we stopped at was Seal Rocks, off of HWY 101 south of Newport. Seal Rocks is at MP 150.9 along HWY 101. There are many different birds hanging around the rocky cliffs. And of course, seals in the surf. My favorite from this trip was the black oystercatcher. There was a pair of the oystercatchers’ right at the water’s edge, eating something along the rocks. The two birds were busy there for some time, until my toddler noticed them and came running toward them. I wish I would have kept snapping pictures as the birds flew up on the rocks, but I did not keep taking pictures because I had to stop my toddler from running into the surf! At the Seal Rocks area that day I had seen cormorants, harlequin ducks, gulls, crows, seals, black oystercatchers and surf scooters. There might have been other birds around; I just could not see them. It was a wonderful stop to watch the wild life. When I get the chance again, I will stop by the Seal Rocks and see what is hanging around at that time.