Audubon field trip - Sunday, August 24

    I'm excited to let you all know about two upcoming Audubon Society-sponsored field trips!

Dates:  Sunday, August 24th and Saturday, October 25th –both led by Matt Hunter


UMPQUA ESTUARY PADDLE--FALL MIGRATION, SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014

    The Umpqua River Estuary is an Oregon Important Bird Area (http://audubonportland.org/local-birding/iba/iba-map/umpqua) located in coastal Douglas County. We will take an 8-mile journey in your own canoe or kayak from Salmon Harbor, riding the tide upstream, taking out at the Gardiner boat ramp in the afternoon. This trip is timed to coincide with the peak of shorebird migration.

    We don't expect many waterfowl in the river on the way up (too early); however, we expect large numbers of juvenile Western Sandpipers, and good numbers of Least Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plover, and Semipalmated Plover.  We may also see Marbled Godwits and Whimbrel. Large numbers of Double-crested Cormorants and several species of gulls are expected. Large groups of Harbor Seals, with their varied colors and patterns, are typically observed, as are a few Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets.

    You can see photos from last year's trip on a similar date here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewghunter/sets/72157635225484645/,

and a complete checklist with notes for that trip here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15000075

Logistics:  If you need an extra person in your canoe/kayak or want to go but don't have a watercraft, let me know and we'll see if we can put some folks together!

    On the day of the trip, Sunday, August 24, we will meet at the Salmon Harbor west basin boat ramp at about 7:30 a.m. (launch fee is $5 per craft, and you need to have your invasive species permit on hand, too). Those of us coming from central Douglas County can meet near Dakota Street Pizza (west of I-5 at Sutherlin) at about 6:00 a.m. to caravan.

    We expect to take out at the Gardiner boat ramp between about 3 pm and 4 pm, but river and bird conditions and decisions of the participants will dictate timing. We will have a shuttle from Gardiner down to Salmon Harbor to retrieve our vehicles. Bring lunch and/or snacks and water.  Life jackets and a whistle are required by Oregon law and I recommend you wear your life jacket on this trip. There are no restrooms on this stretch of river, but we can access some "cover" if need be.

NOTE: If the weather looks forbidding on the scheduled day, we will announce an alternative day (one day before or after), the week prior to the trip.

If you are interested in this trip, please call or email Matt Hunter, 541-670-1984, matthewghunter@gmail.com.   There is no charge for this trip. If participants are interested, we can have dinner afterward in Reedsport.

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