Charleston Area & OIMB
Seasons
Checklists
Location
From North Bend, take the Cape Arago Hwy (see Empire & Barview for directions) for about 9 miles. Cross the bridge into Charleston and take a right on Boat Basin Road. 1) Go west for a couple of blocks and turn right on Kingfisher Drive (43.343527, -124.325152). Take this to the water and make a loop around the marina area. Take a right and go a short distance to Alaska Packer Road. This will give you a nice view of the bay and a nice sand spit that can hold gulls and shorebirds. 2) Return to Boat Basin Road and take it to its westerly end (Coast Guard housing 43.347354, -124.329020). From here, hike along the trail westward. The area between the Coast Guard facility and the fish packing plant can be very birdy (This area is known as Coos Head).
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
The boat basin is a good place to get good looks at Brown Pelican, loons, grebes, gulls and other waterfowl such as Long-tailed Duck. Walking on the trail you might hear a Pileated Woodpecker. A Magnificent Frigatebird was found here in 1987 and again in 1992. In 1984, a Northern Parula was found along the hiking trail and a Prothonotary Warbler was located in that vicinity in 1974. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 2005, Vermillion Flycatcher in 1992, Summer Tanager in 1981, and Chestnut-sided Warbler in 1974 round out the rarities for this spot.
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