Date: 3/23/21 10:49 am From: Range Bayer <range.bayer...> Subject: [obol] Large Numbers of Harlequin Ducks West Of Yaquina Bay Bridge. Many Gulls at Herring Spawn Site
Hi,
On the afternoon of March 22, Walt Nelson & Rebecca Cheek counted at least 34 harlequin ducks along the rocks of the first finger jetty west of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. They also went over to the rock shelf on the north side west of the bridge and saw a huge gull flock where there had been a herring spawn. They counted 40 brant in the middle of the gulls, and a dozen mallards in a group as well. Brant often show in that area this time of year, which is during their spring migration and feed on herring eggs. Mallards are opportunistic and in recent years have been feeding in the surf and swash zone at the mouth of Beaver Creek and the nearby beach. Mallards could be there feeding on herring eggs, too.
The highest eBird count for Harlequins at the Yaquina Jetties this March that I found is 39 on March 19 by Ardis Letey ( https://ebird.org/pnw/checklist/S83687362). To see eBird March-May 2021 Lincoln County Harlequin records and to zoom the map for observations, go to https://tinyurl.com/hp5tsc4n
The eBird Lincoln County page is at https://ebird.org/region/US-OR-041 For Lincoln County, it includes an Overview that includes Last Seen, First Seen, High Counts, Bar Charts of occurrence for each species, and a Printable Checklist for each species reported to eBird.org in Lincoln County. The page also includes tabs for birds and an Illustrated Checklist for each "Hot Spot" location, Recent Visit reports, an Illustrated Checklist for the whole County, and more information.
