The year's first chase

Unseasonably warm weather and reports of a wayward eider inspired a mid-week trip to the coast.

 

We pulled up to a beach on the northern edge of Newport and quickly found a flock of Surf Scoters and Black Scoters that have been associating with the Eider.

 

A few seconds later, we spotted the female King Eider, the first eider of any sort that Sarah or I had ever seen. That's her to the right of the Surf Scoter in the above photo.

We watched for several minutes as she floated and preened, seemingly oblivious to the waves frequently crashing on top of her. She eventually moved on to another location and we proceeded north to Pacific City.

 

A few days later, we took a detour along the Tillamook River on our way back to Portland.

 

The weather was spectacular and we found our first Eurasian Wigeon and Black Phoebe of the year.
 The region could use more rain, but we'll enjoy the sunshine while we can!