Trip Report

A small but enthusiastic group of “explorers” headed out on a cool, cloudy Tuesday morning to look for birds, shopping and fun. Our big comfortable MTR motor coach and cheerful driver, Rick Johnson, made our travels very easy. We experienced some rain showers, but only while we were traveling. Each time we disembarked it was dry and the weather in Bandon was lovely – great for walking on the beach and around town. We enjoyed our usual Obsidian coffee break at the rest area north of Roseburg before heading west on Highway 42 towards the coast. Along the way Obsidian member and naturalist Rick Ahrens shared bits of information on a variety of topics; plants, trees, geology, birds and more. We visited the impressive Coquille Community Center, saw the Sawdust Theater and learned that the Coquille community has begun working to establish a real carousel – working with the Oregon Tourism Council to become part of an Oregon Carousel Trail project. We stopped at Bullard’s Beach State Park for close up look at Coquille Point Lighthouse and a pleasant walk on the beach. As we drove into Old Town Bandon we made a quick check at Bandon Marsh to see what birds were around. Then it was a few hours of free time to enjoy the boardwalk art, shop and find some lunch. Chowder, fish & chips and chocolate were some of the favorite finds. The nature walk with interpretive signage at Coquille Point was a real joy; beautiful scenery, birds in the air, on the rocks and in the water; as well as wildflowers in bloom. Lodging for the night was at the Sunset Oceanview Motel, the rooms were spacious and comfortable – the ocean view was lovely and many of us enjoyed dinner at Lord Bennett’s Restaurant, where we watched a beautiful ocean sunset. A few hardy Obsidians descended the 100+ steps down to the beach and walked back into town for dinner. Wednesday morning found us on the road again, first to Misty Meadows Jams for a great selection of home grown jams, jellies, syrups and other Oregon products – plus a great display of memorabilia. Along the way we had a good view of several cranberry bogs. Next stop - Face Rock Creamery, where we learned about the history of Bandon cheese making and the development of the Face Rock Creamery Company. Of course we enjoyed sampling the wide variety of cheese curds, deciding which ones to bring home and having a late morning ice cream. As we left Bandon, we visited Bandon Marsh Ni-les’tun Wildlife Area – unfortunately Wednesday appeared to be “Birds Day Off”, we could hear some singing, but spotted very few. We did see a lovely display of California lilacs and some pretty wildflowers. We traveled north on 101, stopping at the Mill Casino for lunch and a great view of the bay. Here we had a good look at grebes and loons from the boardwalk behind the casino. Heading inland on 38, we stopped for a close up look at the elk at Dean Creek Elk Viewing area; some of the bulls are beginning to grow new antlers. We enjoyed a lovely drive along the Umpqua River, the pastures and fields are such a lush green. Cattle, horses, goats and sheep were also enjoying the new grass. Turning north on Lorane Highway took us past a herd of long-horned cattle, King Estates Winery and more pretty scenery. We arrived back at Shopko shortly before 5:00. After we completed all of our shopping stops, someone commented that perhaps we should promote our bus trips as the Obsidian economic stimulus tour.
Some of the birds spotted in various areas were: blue heron, egrets, red-winged blackbirds, white crowned sparrow, swallows, doves, Canada geese, mallards, pintails, common loon, western grebe, horned grebe, red-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, bald eagles, gulls, pelagic & Brandt's cormorants, common murres, buffleheads, scoters. Whales were also sighted.
Special thanks to: Rick Ahrens & Charles Thomas for bringing their spotting scopes and sharing their birding expertise with us. Also, Janet Jacobsen for bringing Obsidian merchandise, modeling the Obsidian ponchos for us, and sharing the ten reasons one should have a poncho.