Some old friends are back on the Central Coast.
But loons are not as common. I’m not sure what kind of loon this is though.
Brown Pelicans are fun to watch as they dive so clumsily into the Alsea Bay.
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I went out at sunset in hopes to see the Supermoon rise over the Alsea Bay. The eastern sky was covered by clouds so I focused on the sunset.
The sun sets pretty far north in August. It still amazes me how much it changes from summer to winter. In the winter the sun will set at the mouth of the bay.
Here’s a view of the sleepy little town of Waldport from the archway on the Alsea Bridge.
The cormorants were resting on the underside of the bridge. You can tell by the white poop that they nest above this area. There were other cormorants hanging out but this one had something on his back that I wanted to get a closer look at. There were about 5 dead cormorants there too. I assume that’s common?
I didn’t want to give up on the moonrise too soon; in case it surprised me by popping through the clouds. So I crossed over to the east side of the bridge. No seals on the sandbar, just evidence of their haulout. But something caught my eye and I had to go investigate while I watched the sky change.
Waldport has a Green Bike program. This one looks like it has a twisted back tire but, otherwise, might be salvageable if someone can get out to the sandbar at low tide.
Time to call it a night. I’m sad the moon didn’t show up but happy to see the sunset with all its beautiful colors.
If you’ve ever been 9 months pregnant, I’m sure you can relate to this mama seal. She just cooled off in the Alsea Bay and now she’s warming up in the sun.
I saw lots of new seal pups last Friday. A lot of them were out of good range for my zoom lens. An eagle came and sat on the beach for quite a while too.
There were 3 or 4 pups close to the bridge. They usually stick close to their moms. Although I saw one swimming alone and wanted to warn him of the dangers. When they swim with their moms, they nuzzle up to their moms often. It reminds me of seeing young children in a grocery store with their moms; hanging onto her clothes or her leg. When the seals are floating on the surface, the moms often tilt their head back. I’ve seen them do it even when they are alone. But when they have a pup, her baby kisses her nose.
Seals are much more comfortable moving in the water than on land. Sea Lions can use their hind flippers to help move them on land but seals cannot. This pup looked like he felt so free being in the water. Click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see its umbilical cord! One source says this indicates the pup is less than 10 days old.
The Canada Geese are back on the Central Oregon Coast!
We like watching them gather in the marshy grass flats on the river side of Eckman Lake near Waldport.
There’s lots of food and easy access to slow-moving water; good for teaching the kiddos to swim. And the grass is tall enough to hide the nest.
In fact, its tall enough to hide Mom and Dad in. Who knows how many geese are in there!
When the Alsea River is running fast and high the ducks rest in field puddles.
In addition to mallards we’ve seen mergansers and scaups. It’s not a very deep puddle. They are probably walking instead of paddling.
We’ve wondered if the diving ducks get their pointy bill stuck in the ground when they dive. 🙂
These heron are usually on dry ground in Lint Slough, in Waldport, Oregon. But with some good rains and high tides last week they were wading in the water.
Some found a dry patch.
Their colors seem more vibrant than usual. Maybe it’s their breeding plumage?
One of my favorite workamping benefits is observing the local wildlife.
It’s not red and it’s pulled by horses, not reindeer. But it sounds like it’s jingling when the handcuffs on the shifter rattle. lol
Our stake membership has been donating to various South Lincoln County programs all year. We have been blessed to provide logistic support for some of these donations. Today we got to deliver clothing, bedding and toys to the Waldport H.E.L.P. (Homeless Education and Literacy Project)
Thanks to all the Wards in Corvallis, Philomath, Newport and Waldport Branch for your generous donations and the beautiful handmade items! Senitila McKinley (Waldport HELP) assured me they are needed and are greatly appreciated.
This year there were 535 homeless students enrolled in the Lincoln County schools. Some children are teens who couch-surf, other children are living with parents in a tent or leaky trailer. There are many reasons a family can become homeless. Contact a local HELP Center to get involved: Lincoln City, 541-996-4878; Newport, 541-574-5824; Toledo, 541-4357; and Waldport, 541-563-8584
Want to do something for them for Christmas? Let them enjoy shopping too. Donate a gift card or certificate from local stores that provide shoes, clothing, blankets, household and hygiene items, school supplies, restaurants, entertainment and toys! http://oregoncoastdailynews.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/homeless.jpg
My first thought about “community” was church because wherever we travel to workamp, we feel so at home when we attend church.
Ordinances are the same, lessons are the same, the spirit is the same. But I don’t have a current photo and it’s a “photo challenge”. Soooo….
These ducks live in a community on Eckman Lake, near Waldport, Oregon.
There were at least 4 or 5 different kinds of ducks that we could identify on this icy day.
By working together, they keep the ice from freezing over the whole lake.
There were smaller groups in different places and they’d fly or walk from one place to another. It reminded me of going to Crystal Hot Springs, Utah, in the winter 🙂 We’d walk quickly from the dressing room to the hot pool.
This duck seemed to be a loner. But then suddenly he joined the group. He decided to go see what all the fuss was about.
