Nehalem Meadows
Seasons
Checklists
Location
Nehalem Meadows (45.714835, -123.885699) is a birder name for the general agricultural area located 24 miles north of Tillamook.
To reach the area from Nehalem, travel south on Hwy 101 for 1.0 mile to Tideland Rd. Turn right (west) travel 0.1 mile to pass under Highway 101. Tideland Rd. transects Nehalem Meadow for the next 2.7 miles to Highway 53.
At Highway 53 turn left (east). Travel on Highway 53 for 0.4 mile to McKimmens Rd. This the is Nehalem Meadows–McKimmens Rd. (45.720950, -123.864610). Turn left (west) and drive McKimmens Rd. out-and-back returning to Highway 53. Turn left (north) and continue 0.5 mile to McDonald Dike Rd turn left (west). This is Nehalem Meadows–McDonald Rd. (45.732762, -123.871860). Travel on McDonald Dike Rd. for 1.2 miles to Northfork Road which returns to Nehalem.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
This area is best birded by vehicle. All the Nehalem Meadows sites can be visited in a few hours. This is a good area to check for unusual waterfowl. Blue-winged Teal, both swans, Snow, Ross’s, and Emperor Goose have been found here. Check the dairy pastures and trees, snags, and fenceposts for wintering raptors, including White-tailed Kite, Merlin, Rough-legged Hawks, Peregrine Falcon, and with great luck Gyrfalcon. Winter gull flocks can have Iceland and Glaucous Gulls. Winter sparrows include Lincoln’s, Clay-colored, Tree, Swamp, White-throated, and Harris’s. Check the more common White-crowned and Golden-crowned flocks. Look for Purple Martins in summer and Palm Warblers in winter. Tropical Kingbirds can be found anywhere in this general area during October and November.
At the Nehalem Meadows–McDonald Rd. bridge crossing (North Fork Nehalem River) there is a nesting colony of Purple Martins.
eBird Checklists:
eBird Checklist for Nehalem Meadows
eBird Checklist for Nehalem Meadows -Tideland Road
eBird Checklist for Nehalem Meadows–McDonald Rd.
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