Earth Day Notes: Bound North for the Aleutians

Two days ago we were on a lonely beach near the New River, a bit north of Cape Blanco, the wind whipping the sand. Ann saw something in the far distance. She pointed. It took me a while to make out the thin undulating line far in the distance. Then we heard the unmistakable cries [...]

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On the Banks of the Coquille

Wednesday morning found us on 42S, a narrow, winding road which leaves Bandon on the south side of the Coquille River and wanders up its valley to the picturesque community of Coquille. Coquille, the Coos County seat, has a population of somewhat less than 5000. We were heading there to get a new driver’s license [...]

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Welcome to Port Orford

We’ve greeted autumn in our new homeplace—Port Orford, Oregon. Although semi-native New Mexicans, we’ve spent the last five winters on the Curry County coast, always wondering if we could comfortably change from our high desert’s annual eight inches of rain, to the 80 inches the Oregon coast promised. A beautiful home in Port Orford, our [...]

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Backyard Bird Watching

Today our neighbors are having their home re-stuccoed. I’m sure as the workmen climbed up on the roof they were surprised and, perhaps amused, to see in the adjacent yard, two pajamaed folks gazing through binoculars, at what must have appeared to be a blank back wall. What they couldn’t see was that we were [...]

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Sandia Sunday

Sunday promises to be clear, cool and breezy as we head for the Piedra Lisa Spring Trailhead. We’re not alone. The parking lot is close to full. Piedra Lisa (it means smooth stone) is a fairly steep trail, gaining 1200’ in about two miles. This does not stop the large number of families we see [...]

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First Sighting Pelicans: Part 2

Seems we’re not the only Oregon coast watchers who’ve noted the unusual winter brown pelican population. The last week of January pelicans made front page news around the state. And it’s not a pretty picture. All the south coast local papers ran stories about too many pelicans: scavenging and begging for food at docks, in [...]

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First Sighting Pelicans: Part 1

Every rain-soaked morning we’ve watched south-flying, storm-avoiding brown pelicans. In ragged lines of ten or so, they glide along the breakers, just above the water, looking gracefully elegant. Just like the gulls, while soaring and banking occasionally northward, they’ve always returned to their southward course. At first Stan didn’t believe I was seeing pelicans. We’ve [...]

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Naming Gulls

This week, as storm after storm has churned up the coast, we have been treated to a unique daily show. Huge clumps of gulls pass by our bedroom window, all of them heading south. We conjecture they’re moving inland before the latest storm. Perhaps they all return north at night but who’s birding then? A [...]

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Flocks by Day

Yesterday I was sitting in the living room reading the Sunday comics. Given the toxic nature of public “conversation” these days, the comics have become my only consistent must-read in the daily newspaper. Red and Rover is my favorite. (Check it out at http://comics.com/red&rover/) I heard a thump at the front of the house. Nothing [...]

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Bosque Dusk

Evening approaches at Socorro County’s Bosque del Apache. We hurry to the northern end, where the cornfields and shallow wetlands are. Across the field we spot an enormous, restless, white, honking swath. Looking closer, we see it’s a giant gaggle of snow geese, recent arrivals from the north. Overhead, ragged streamers of huge gray sandhill [...]

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