Oregon Coast Birding Trail

The Oregon Coast Birding Trail is a self-guided driving itinerary high-lighting the premier locations for observing birds along the entire Oregon coast and into Northern California.  Of the 173 birding hotspots detailed in Birding Trail Guide, 46 are in Lincoln County.  Guides are available at visitor centers, through COCA and online.

Here are four totally different central coast hotspots: (1) Taft Waterfront Park – At the southern end of Lincoln City, go to the end of 51st Street for Siletz Bay and sandy beach habitats and watch for gulls, grebes, loons and scoters; (2) Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area – North of Newport in spring and summer expect to see up to 20,000 nesting common murres covering offshore rocky islands and a much smaller number of pelagic cormorants and gulls nesting on the headland; (3) Hatfield Marine Science Center Nature Trail – Just south of the Yaquina Bay Bridge is a one-mile trail bording Yaquina Bay where songbirds can be found in the bushes and waterfowl in the mudflats; (4) Eckman Lake and Slough- From Waleport drive 2.3 miles east on Hwy 34 to see a freshwater lake and estuarine mudflats that attract abundant waterfowl in winter, as well as the fall and spring migrations.

For more information on birding along the entire Oregon coast visit. www.OregonCoastBirding.com