Siletz Bay - Salishan Nature Trail

We chose a cold, damp day (yesterday, January 8, 2011) to revisit the SALISHAN NATURE TRAIL that winds along the south side of Siletz Bay.  As we approached the trailhead, we were behind a man walking a large dog, and a couple walking their two dogs were just returning from walking there.  This lead me to think that there would be few birds to observe, except perhaps out on the bay.  I was wrong.

GREAT BLUE HERON

A strange cascade of feathers in the bay turned out to be a GREAT BLUE HERON taking an interesting approach to self-grooming.  It made an intriguing picture that I couldn't pass up. 











On the golf course side of the trail, a flock of AMERICAN ROBINS were taking advantage of the neatly clipped grass for their foraging.

We saw a good variety of sparrows as we walked, including WHITE CROWNED, GOLDEN CROWNED, FOX and SONG SPARROWS.   

GOLDEN CROWNED SPARROW

GOLDEN CROWNED SPARROW

GOLDEN CROWNED SPARROW

WHITE CROWNED SPARROW

FOX SPARROW

I'm certain there were other sparrows as well.  There were almost too many birds to see - certainly too many to photograph on this drizzly day.

TOWNSEND'S WARBLER

Even a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER was enjoying the damp grass.

NORTHERN PINTAIL

On the bay side of the trail, hundreds of NORTHERN PINTAIL floated on the quiet water, interspersed with some diving ducks like BUFFLEHEAD and WHITE WINGED SCOTER.

What's a diver to do when the dabblers all dabble?

We again took the narrow trail to the north, which put us between a reedy marsh and the bay.  

MALLARDS

GREAT BLUE HERON w/MALLARD

In a reedy nook, a pair of MALLARDS took advantage of a quiet refuge,











while a GREAT BLUE HERON watched the water intently for his next meal.

Heron in the rain, my favorite photo of the day

Along the trail, a SONG SPARROW danced along beside us, posing intermittently. 

SONG SPARROW

A flock of small birds, including CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, KINGLETS and YELLOW RUMPED WARBLERS flitted around our heads.  The overhanging conifers combined with the rain made the area too dark to get good pictures of them.

HOUSE FINCH (m)

HOUSE FINCH (f)

DOWNY WOODPECKER

We did get a slightly blurry photo of a bright red HOUSE FINCH, and one of his female companion.














They were part of a small flock that noisily occupied the area.













A female DOWNY WOODPECKER made a brief appearance in an area that was bright enough to get a snapshot.











We saw two HUMMINGBIRDS along the trail.  We didn't get a good look at the first one.  The second was in this area with the overhanging trees - I believe it was a male ANNA'S.  As we watched it hovering near a large conifer, we startled a LARGE RAPTOR from the tree.

LARGE RAPTOR

We didn't get a good enough look to ID it.  I photographed it in flight, but the photos silhouetted the bird against the sky (still learning about camera settings!).  








We took a quick look at the marsh where we had seen the GREEN HERON last fall, but the rain was falling in earnest and we were cold and pretty much soaked to the skin. 

YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER

On our walk back to the car, we enjoyed the teasing of a RUBY CROWNED KINGLET, and another YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER in the brush on the trail's edges.










Turning south (back in the car), we adjourned to JACK'S STEAK 'N SEAFOOD for an excellent burger and a little bit of Sunday night football to warm up and dry out.

Salishan Nature trail is about a mile in length, with ocean access at the west end.  We only walked about half of it yesterday.  Trail access is behind the Salishan gift shops on the west side of Highway 101.