Oregon Coast Birding Trail Port Orford, OR 97465

The Oregon Coast Birding Trail was created by local birders, wildlife professionals, and tourism specialists for birding. Birding enthusiasts will tell you that bird watching is one of the fastest growing outdoor recreational activities in the country.

The Trail is a self-guided driving adventure that highlights the best locations for observing birds along the entire Oregon Coast and into Northern CA.

The striking beauty of the Oregon coast landscape will compete for your attention at every turn of the road as you search for birds in their natural habitats.

Three of the foremost locations along the southern portion of the Trail are in Port Orford where the coastal forest meets the sea. Birders can explore forests, river valleys, fresh water lakes, sandy beaches, coastal dunes, tidal estuaries, and rocky tide pools.

1. There are nearly 500 varieties of birds that make their home along the coast. They can be divided into four categories:Seabirds spend most of their lives in the waters of the Oregon Coast and they even tend to sleep in the waters. They return to land to lay eggs, but they spend most of their lives at sea. They dine mostly on small fish, squid, shellfish, and other crustaceans. Types of seabirds observed here include the Tufted Puffin, Marbled Murrelet, Common Murre, the Black Oystercatcher, Auklets, Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Jaegers, Fulmars, Petrels, the Western Gull, and many varieties of cormorants.
   
2. Shorebirds, unlike like the seabirds, don't have webbed feet and spend their lives on the shore foraging for food, eating worms, insect larvae, etc. The type of shorebirds observed here include: the Western and Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Whimbrel, the Semipalmated and Western Snowy Plover, and Killdeer.
   
3. Birds of prey that live along the coast include the majestic Bald Eagle, Osprey, and Barn Owl. They feast on other small birds, rodents, small mammals, and fish. It is always a memorable moment when you spot an Osprey catching a salmon, or find a Bald Eagle sitting on its perch above the river.
   
4. Water fowl that make their homes in the freshwater lakes and around the coast include a variety of ducks and geese.

Checkout the Oregon Coast Birding website at http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com/