Critters of the coast and Puget Sound

An eagle at Fort Flagler claims one scraggly tree overlooking the shipping lanes as his. Derrille and Jay saw him almost every day as they walked that part of the perimeter. He or she surveys the shipping lanes for passing food.

Counting deer remains one of our favorite activities at Fort Flager. Derrille and Jay usual saw some on their walk. I even spotted a couple of small does when I walked my couple of miles up the main road.

In Old Town at Newport the resident male sea lions lounge, bark and swim around the docks and rocks. In June only two or three remained in Newport. The rest of guys had gone south to mate with the females who stay in the warmer waters of California. By September they had returned to Yaquina Bay. For those of you who know about the sea lions in Newport, you may remember that these hugh mammals used to occupy about eight docks arranged in a "L" below a higher "people" dock. The docks succumbed to age and only two remain. The divers from the Undersea Gardens helped secure one of these old docks, or there would only be one left. Donation boxes can be found all over town to help the sea lions. The plan includes the creation of cement docks put in for the critters.

Then the metal cage can be put back into place. The sea lions lounge in the metal cage on top of each other. The gate remains open until a sick or hurt sea lion is spotted. The cage allows vets to isolate the injured sea lion and treat him. If you try to tranquilize a sea lion, they will retreat into the sea. Then when they pass out, they drown. So the cage option greatly helps with their health care. When the wind blows toward the sea, we can hear the sea lions bark inside the RV at Southbeach State Park several miles away.

At Winchester Bay the RV faces Salmon Harbor. The little coves that make up the edge of the RV park usually provide a playroom and diner for a couple of seals a day. Sometimes the seals float almost vertical and put their nose out of the water. I can only assume they also like the feel of the sun on their face. These critters tend to be a bit camera shy. By the time I'd recognize them in the water, got my camera, attempted to focus and swish...down they dive.

Brown and white pelicans spent time swooping and diving around the water in front of us. Their number muliplied when the fishing boats came into the marina across the way. I found it interesting to see both brown and white pelicans here. My past experiences have been viewing one or the other.

Reedsport lies about six miles north of Winchester Bay. Highway 38 starting at Reedsport heads inland to Drain Oregon and then into I-5 at Cottage Grove along the Umpqua River. A short ten miles out of Reedsport, an elk preserve exists. The preserve includes several viewing areas. Reader boards offer information about the elk, the ducks, the marshland and other interesting facts relevant to the preserve. We try to make a couple of trips out there when in Winchester Bay. One of our visits this year had a buck and his harem of young does on one end of the preserve. The gathering of bachelors hung out quite a ways from the harem. When Derrille and I arrived we spotted a dog like critter. It could have been a wolf. It sported reddish fur like a fox, but we think it was a healthy coyote. I was so engrossed watching, I forgot to use my camera.

One good size buck had settled down near the creek. He may have been an older guy, just living out his years.

Several ducks gathered on muddy islands and swam in the creek.

In June the bachelors were looking very fine with velvet antlers. Some of these guys look just about ready to challenge the reigning bucks for a few does of their own.

I think rutting takes place in Sept. when the young bucks fight for ownership. The ones we saw this fall will need to wait until next year to make their move.

This fall it occurred to me that one of the perks of our full time RVing relates to being able to view critters in their natural environment. I value being able see the magnificent critters! We did see a couple of whale, and other seals along our journeys this year.