Monolithic Birding at Cannon Beach

During the last weekend in May we made the decision to go relax at a cottage in cannon beach Oregon. If you have not been to this picturesque, coastal city then I would have to ask have you heard of it. Well if you have not then the city of Cannon Beach is located on the Pacific Northwest coast of Oregon about 80 miles west of Portland. The city is four miles in length and surrounded by forests, ocean beaches, rivers and the Oregon Coast Mountain Range. Cannon Beach has lots to offer, but I will talk a bit about what birding you can do in conjunction with all the other things it has to offer. Most trips I take these days I always ensure that there are birding opportunities. So what birding does Cannon Beach has to offer? Well during the month of May Haystack Rock is home to several species of birds, besides the colony of Gulls. So during my stay in the area I was able to see several types of Gulls, Murre, and Pigeon Guillemot, everyone’s favorite the Tufted Puffin and a two types of Cormorants. On the rocks further offshore I spotted Brown Pelicans mixed in with Cormorants.Each morning I work up around 5am before the crowds which also coincided with the low tide which was very fortunate for me. This allowed me to move in closer to Haystack to get better angles to photograph the wildlife on the Monolithic Rock. During this low tide phase I was privilege enough to see up close a nesting pair of Oyster Catchers.

As one tended to the nest, the other one was standing guard. While I was watching them a Crow wandered too close into their territory. It was no time before the Crow was swiftly escorted out by the sentinel and its long slender bright orange bill. During low tide the most visible birds were Pigeon Guillemot, Gulls, and Cormorants. The Murres and Puffins mainly stayed on the western side of the rock facing out to sea. As the morning progressed and the tide came in the Murres and Puffins trickled around the rock and I was able to get some photographs of some Puffins and Murres. This however didn’t last long because a pair of Bald Eagles did a fly over looking for a meal and the birds on Haystack erupted into a chaos as majority of the birds took to the air flying around vocalizing their displeasure and fear. While waiting for frenzy to calm down I noticed Harlequin Ducks fighting the surf and swimming in with the incoming tide. After watching them and enjoying the sounds of the ocean and sun rays I was reminded by the tide as it rolled over my feet that it was time for breakfast.

To see the birds photographed while at Cannon Beach get out my Cannon Beach birds Gallery.