My wife and I stopped at Boiler Bay late this afternoon. Not a second was wasted while we were there. Bright sun. Blue sky and bluer water. Some lazy fog hanging far offshore. Busy seabirds in a feeding frenzy. Crows and gulls patrolling the parking lot. 68 degrees…when we got home to Yamhill County in early evening it was still over 90. 
Comnmon Murre:
Feedinf frenzy which had attracted murre, guillemot, gulls and Pelagic Cormorants:
These two oystercatchers were just twenty yards from the edge of the parking lot.
Ten years I would have ignored the floating kelp leaves.
But now many historic kelp beds have vanished along the California coast–victims of warm ocean water and a plague of sea urchins which in turn was fostered by a die-off of predatory starfish…all likely linked to climate change. In many places the urchins have grazed all the kelp and even killed the ones that try to grow back. Like sheep on a dry pasture. Enjoy and cherish our precious remaining kelp.
This little guy had al lthe behavioral traits of a fledgling…looking at a nearby large predator he could only manage a “duh?”
Did not see a single pelican on the drive from Newport north to Lincoln City.
Boiler Bay State Wayside, Lincoln, Oregon, US
Jul 26, 2017 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM. 8 species
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) 40
Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) 2
Common Murre (Uria aalge) 30
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba) 15
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) X
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 8
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) X
Towheeblog 
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