Life is Damp but still Good

Hi All,

Today ranged from light drizzle to steady rain. For most of the day the fog prevented us from seeing the sea lions across the bay. Still we had 68 enthusiastic visitors. Once again, many were in the area for the Olympic Trials in Eugene. One young woman visiting today was the US National javelin champion.  Another visitor commented that the coastline here looks a lot like the Na Pali coast of the Hawain island of Kauai. Yet another reason to be thankful although the water here is 52 degrees not 82 degrees.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

When the rain got heavy we protected the scopes with trash bags.

Back to Yaquina Head

Hi All,

After "work" today we drove to Newport to return the "Build a Bird" materials to the FWS office.

While in Newport we went to Yaquina Head to see the thousands of murres ( instead of the single murre we had on the rocks at Heceta!).

This is Colony Rock; thousands of murres to the left and surprisingly

Two Bald Eagles on the right side of the rock

We looked in vain for chicks but we did see adult birds with fish tail first in their bills bend over to feed a chick and come up empty. The chicks were there but deep in the cluster of adult birds.

We did see lots of abandoned eggs. Check out the baby blue cone shaped egg in the right center.

Back at the visitor center parking lot, we found the all four if the Peregrine falcon chicks had fledged and we're flying around.

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Sent from my iPhone

Building a Bird

Hi All,

After a quiet day at the library and walking along the beach we went to Girl Scout Camp. Here we presented a program about bird adaptations called "Build a Bird". 

The materials we got from the Fish & Wildlife Education Coordinator were great. We dressed a volunteer with down feathers (down vest), contour feathers(feather boa), hollow bones(paper towel tube), air sacs(balloon), wings, long legs, long toes, camouflage and an oil gland. It was great fun and the 25 girls seemed to enjoy the program.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

A Different Perspective

Hi All,

The lighthouse restoration entered a new phase today and they wanted visitors to remain down by the lighthouse keepers house. We moved our wildlife observation site and found some different opportunities to showcase local wildlife to visitors.

The common murre colony is still stressed by the eagle attacks and subsequent egg theft by gulls and crows. Our collection of murre eggs is , sadly, growing.

Many visitors are fascinated to learn about the evolution of cone shaped eggs to reduce the likelihood of rolling off the rock and the multicolored/multispotted eggs that allow murres to identify their eggs in a crowded colony.

Our new observation location gives us a view of harbor seals as well as sea lions.

Up near the lighthouse we can only see the tip of Parrot Rock. From here we can see the whole rock.

The rugged Oregon coast provides endless stunning vistas.

Many recent visitors are in the area for the Olympic Track & Field trials in Eugene this week. We wish them all well both in Eugene and in London this summer. 

We also lovingly remember our friend Jerry Cantor who, as a volunteer track and field official, would have been officiating  in Eugene if he was still with us.

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

More Whales and an Eagle- No Idiots

Hi All,
Another glorious day. When we arrived there were no mures on the rocks. When a juvenile bald eagle attacked there were no murres to catch so he grabbed a crow and flew off. We had 147 human visitors throughout the day then as we were walking down from the lighthouse we had two more visitors. We spotted a gray whale mother and calf swimming slowly south. After they passed bye we drove to the viewpoint near Sea Lion Cave and from the high spot we could easily see the adult and juvenile whales.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Not a great shot but definitely two whales

Whales, Eagles and Idiots

Hi All,

Another wonderful day on the Oregon coast. Morning rain and a 60% rain forecast set our expectations for the day pretty low. However, when we arrived at Heceta the sky was brightening and soon we had sun and Carl was in short sleeves.

Then the whales came, a gray whale mother and calf swam about a half mile away. They remained in the same general area for almost two hours, probably feeding and many visitors got to see the whales in the spotting scopes. 

The murre colony was mostly in the water, frightened by frequent overflights by turkey vultures (no threat to the birds but the murres are not quite sure these big brown birds are not eagles). Around mid day an immature bald eagle attacked the colony and flew off with a murre. Less than 30 minutes later another ( or possibly the same) eagle struck again, carrying off another bird. We watched as the gulls swooped in and stole the unprotected eggs of the murres that fled the eagle attack. It is sad to watch but, of course, the eagles and gulls must eat as well.

The most interesting visitor of the day was a teacher from western MD who is spending his summer hiking---from the Columbia River in northern Oregon to San Francisco, a total distance of over 800 miles!!

Now about the idiots. The sea lions haul out on rock ledges generally inaccessible to land predators and humans. Today we saw three teenage boys climb down the steep cliff face and scare six sea lions into the water. Not only is this illegal, it is very dangerous since the male Steller sea lions (up to 2,200 pounds) are gathering breeding harems this time if year and not fond of interruptions. We reported the incident but the boys were probably long gone when the police arrived.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Another Day in Newport

Hi All,

We have volunteered to present a bird talk to a group of Girl Scouts next week so we went to Newport to get some education materials from the Fish & Wildlife office. We got two programs, one about bills and one about adaptations called, "Dressing a Bird". Looks like they will be great.

While in Newport, we visited Yaquina Head where we volunteered in 2009. 

Here's Sandy in a familiar pose, looking at thousands of murres on the rocks. We were jealous since there are so few murres at Heceta.

Perigrine falcons have nested on the cliff behind the visitor center.

Yaquina Head lighthouse

More beautiful coastal scenery at Ten Mile Creek just north of our campground.

The bridge at Ten Mile Creek shares the same beautiful shape as most of the bridges on the Oregon coastal highway.

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Eggs and Orcas

Hi All,

The murre colony at Heceta Head has been continuously frightened off of the nesting rocks by predators. By early afternoons the birds were usually back in the water and we wondered if any would lay eggs.

This morning as we hiked up to the lighthouse we found two broken murre eggs. Probably stolen by a gull, but at least the birds were laying eggs.

We kept the shells to show visitors how murre eggs have evolved to accommodate their life style. Since the birds lay eggs on flat rocks where they are vulnerable to rolling off the edge, their eggs have evolved cone shapes so they roll in a circle. Since the murre colonies are so dense, up to to 6 birds per square foot, the birds lay eggs of different colors and spot patterns so each pair can identify their egg. 

Different colors and spots ensure they incubate the right egg

Today many birds stayed up on the rocks although many more were in the water.

Through the scope we spotted this murre incubating an egg you can barely see under the bird. Sadly, a few minutes later, the murre was frightened off the rock and a gull stole the egg.

The egg shells were great for Sandy's show and tell with this group of 72 school kids after Dennis told them about the lighthouse.

Mid afternoon an Orca sighting added to the day's excitement. We caught a brief glimpse of a female and three juveniles swimming north. They passed too quickly for photos or a better estimate of the pod size.

We are really loving it here!!

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Sea Lion Cave

Hi All,

After work today, we visited Sea Lion Cave, a popular tourist attraction about one mile south of Heceta Head. A huge sea cave ( 2 acres with 125 ft ceiling) was discovered here in 1880. It soon became a tourist attraction and the addition of an elevator in the 60's increased its appeal as it eliminated 205 feet of steps to get down to the cave (and back up of course).

There is a local colony of about 300 Steller sea lions. In winter most of them seek shelter in the cave. In spring, most sea lions are outside on the rock ledges mating and giving berth to 60 pound sea lion pups. There were a few dozen animals in the cave when we visited and over 200 on the rock ledge outside.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

A few sea lions in the huge cave. Note the prominent sediment layer on the cave wall that separates successive ancient lava flows.

A beautiful foxglove along the trail

200 sea lions on the outside ledge

Big male (about 2,000 pounds) protecting his harem

Rainier & Snoqualmie

Hi All,

With a marginal weather forecast we headed to Mount Rainier National Park. 

Patches of blue sky gave us good views of the Tatoosh Range south of Mt. Rainier.

Snow had just melted from the moss covered ground.

The Box Canyon of the Cowlitz was very beautiful

There is still a bit of snow at Paradise (5,409 ft)

The peak of Rainier was fogged in and the buildings were still held hostage by the snow

This radio collared fox was too friendly, approaching cars for food.

Just before we left the park, the summit cleared and we could see the peak of Mt Rainier.

To celebrate Sandy's 65th birthday, we went with Matt & Sue to the lodge at Snoqualmie Falls for a delicious dinner.

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Off to Issaquah

Hi All,

We have 5 days off so we drove up to the Seattle area to visit friends and sightsee. The rainy weather kept us indoors Tuesday but we toured all the new construction since we lived here in Issaquah 35 years ago and were blown away by the growth.

Matt & Sue then took us to Pike Place Market in Seattle. Great fun

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

View of towering cedar trees from the Mattingly's living room.

Seattle waterfront & port

Famous fish market

Endless rows of veggies

Someone else shares Carl's opinion about brussel sprouts 

A Few Quiet Days

Hi All,

The last few days have been pretty quiet here on the Oregon coast. On Friday we were set up for nearly three hours before our first visitors arrived. The common murres that we hope to watch breeding on the offshore rocks have been spooked by eagles. Usually they are gone by noon. When they all fly off, we show visitors sea lions across the bay and pelicans resting on the rocks.

We meet lots of interesting people, many from Eugene and Portland but today we met a Swiss couple bicycling across America on vacation. They started in Miami!!! We should be so energetic.

Friday after work we drove to Eugene to attend Shabbat services at Temple Beth Israel. The services were very musical and we were welcomed warmly by the local congregants. 

We have worked 8 of the last 9 days and now we have 5 days off. Tomorrow we drive to the Seattle area to visit friends we made when we lived there in the mid 70's.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

This is how people find us

Fog rolls in obscuring our view of the sea lions

Large, well organized flock of Canada geese headed north

Sea lions hauled out on rocks about 3/4 mile away