Wild Coast Vacations

Pelican, the dancer of the sea Part 2

2012-02-23T12:07:00.002-08:00

From the shore of Gold Beach Oregon, here on the sunny southern Oregon coast:

The Pelican

The creature that seems to be put together with spare parts.

He looks so awkward.

Yet it is almost migration season again, and I would like you to sit by the sea and watch as these elegant creatures fly north in the spring. (And once they arrive back, you can see them morning and evening traveling along our shore to and from their day/ night areas). You will see the most well choreographed ballet in the world. From an ungraceful bird comes a graceful and wonderful ballet, yet it is easy to miss! So sit a while and watch this very special event.

They generally fly in groups of 2 to 12 or more. Flying single file, they fly as one, gliding just inches above the wet of the ocean, rising so gently as the wave builds under them. Still inches from the water, this Pelican ribbon matches the shape of the wave exactly, the timing, the fluid motion, the music of their dance is perfect.

As one, the individuals fly with wings nearly touching, the first raises his flight as the wave builds, and in perfect response, as if a rope that has been flipped, each Pelican follows the first until they are gliding just at the tip of the wave, and then gently back to the level of the sea as the wave crests and breaks, and never seems to splash even a drop of salt water onto the flying shadow above.

Gently, smoothly they weave over the top of the water, little flapping, mostly gliding, they hug the water and move with the very motion of the always moving chant of the ocean face. Not as one bird might do, not as the seagulls who fly there too. No, the ribbon of Pelican motion instead reacts as one to the churn and the movement and the music of the sea.

Never a more wonderful dance will you witness, than that of the Pelican and the sea. It is hard to believe this ballerina of feather is such an effortless dancer.

Take some time to see this show, it is free!

Wild Coast Vacations
Gold Beach Oregon

The Pelican, and the Ballet of the Sea

2011-07-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

PART I

The Pelican.   What an odd bird!   When you see one standing alone, with that big long beak and pouch, those squat little legs with great big flapper feet on the end, and a pretty big body, you think this bird could never fly!   What were they thinking when they invented this guy?

Then one day while you are standing by the river you look up and here is this very odd creature hovering over the water, and then SPLAT he dives head first for a fish that only he can see.   Well the guy hits the water with such a disjointed splash that you are startled and think for sure the poor guy has done some kind of a really bad belly-flop.   Kind of like the belly-flops you managed when you were a kid.   All arms and legs and flap of belly-skin hitting the water - very embarrasing and quite painful!   Well this seems to be what the Pelican has done right in front of your eyes, this could not possibly have been done on purpose, could it?

Just when you were thinking of calling 9-1-1 or whatever the animal equivalent would be, the mighty Pelican pops up to the top of the water like a cork, and seems to be quite calm and not ruffled at all.   Finally you realize that he has just purposely made this awkward and ungraceful dive into the water to catch a fish. This puts a new light on the spectacle and rather than be embarrased by his splash-head-first-crash-landing, in fact he is quite pleased with himself!

Such is the Pelican, a collection of parts put together in one big bird, who seems to be one of the most ungainly creatures of the sea. He can have a wing span of 6 - 10 feet, has large webbed toes and some of the longest beaks known in the bird world.   They eat fish, swim well, migrate in the winter along the west coast, and they enjoy being in groups. You will often see them flying together, sometimes just 2 or 3 birds but sometimes in large groups which form long bird-chains in the sky and over the water.

Clumsy might be the word that comes to mind when you watch a Pelican. He strolls with a strut, kind of rolling his large body side to side.   He is so odd that he is handsome!   But who could believe that this bird could fly, much less be the dancer of the sea?   Yet a ballet is performed by the mighty, awkward, ungainly, and oddly constructed Pelican.

Coming soon, the dance of the Pelican, Part II. Check back soon for the wonderful photos by Green Water Films (and maybe a video or two), and the story of the best ballet you may ever see.   Yes, this is the dance of the Pelican, suddenly the most graceful bird of the sea.

Whale Watching Tips

2011-05-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

People ask, "what do I look for?"

The best way to see a whale, is to find a nice place to sit. In other words you want to sit down, relax, and stay a while!   Let your eyes adjust to the look of the ocean profile, that way you will quickly notice when it changes.
In the month of May when the females are migrating north very close to the shore, focus out about 150 - 200 feet past the breakers. Just scan the surface of the ocean with your eyes, back and forth. When a whale is passing by you will usually notice the spout first!   You will see water spraying straight up, and when you see this, look for the whale. Shortly you will be able to see the body of the whale just below the surface of the water, and you will see glimpses of her back as she swims in the rocking fashion.

If you are lucky, you may see the whale and her calf (sometimes several of both) stop and play, roll, dive, and even peek up out of the water to see what is above the surface of the ocean.   That is the special part of whale watching, and there are some known areas where this happens frequently. Often they have a favorite place along the shoreline where the water is shallow and they can scrape along the bottom sand. These are the spots that are the most fun for whale watchers because you can often see the whole body of the whale and even see some great maneuvers from time to time.

I usually see the whales in the late afternoon / early evening. I think this is because the water is often very calm at that time, and the surface is like glass. It is much easier to see the ripples and dimpled surface that sometimes happens when a whale is spending a little bit of time in that spot. But your eye can catch the sight of a spout or a large black area just under the water when the sea is glass-like.

It is a waiting game to see a whale, so best to settle down in the early evening and just wait. Hopefully your patience will be rewarded!   There is something rather mystical about seeing the huge creatures gliding effortlessly over and through the water, especially in May when they are often so close to shore. You realize why so many books, songs, poems, and paintings speak of the whale and the awesome sight of one of these amazing creatures.

Good luck, and in this second week of May I have seen one whale off of Nesika Beach, very close to shore, and two in Yachats, just a little bit further out, but these two performed all kinds of movements for me from rolling, slapping the water with that huge tail and more. Yes, after all these years it still takes my breath away, and makes me feel that something just a little bit special has happened to me that day.

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May

2011-05-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

May on the coast of Oregon:

Gold Beach annual WINE, ART, AND MUSIC FESTIVAL is Saturday May 14 from 11-7, and Sunday May 15 from noon - 5. Come on over for this fun event, and take advantage of the WHALE OF A SPECIAL, read about it at the bottom of this post.

Mid May watch for the whales! Mid May is the time we often see the female whales with their offspring, heading north for the summer. This is one of my favorite whale watching times because during this trip the female whales hug the coastline, making up-close and special viewings.

From my own backyard I have seen whales so close that I could almost (it seems) reach out and touch them. I live along the beach in Nesika Beach, where the whales swim so close to shore and in such shallow water. You can see the detail of their body, you can see the mother and the calf, you can see as they roll over and play, when they swat their tail on the water, when they dive to feed. It is hard to get a photo of this experience because it is fleeting, and you never know when they will appear. But above is one shot I managed to get of the female peering above the water.

Come to the coast to witness this very special whale migration, I will give you a location where I often see whales very close to shore. Ask for the Whale of a Special, with weekday discounts of up to 20% (depends on the house) and weekend discount of up to 15% between good whale watching dates of May 5 through May 21. Bring a canned food for our local foodbank to take advantage of this Special! (See website for details).
http://wildcoastvacations.com/

Hummingbird Migration over the coast

2011-04-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Migration

Coming this week

The hummingbird migration up the coast. Read about our last year migration, where thousands of tiny hummingbirds flew along the coastline heading north, just at tree level, and made quite a mad dash up the southern Oregon coast. Here in Gold Beach Oregon we are waiting for their arrival in the next days.

The 2010 Hummingbird migration lasted for two full days.

From early morning until almost dark on April 8 and April 9, hundreds of Hummingbirds migrated north along the coast. From my yard, I watched these tiny bullet birds whiz past my deck. A few stopped for a drink of the flowers I put out (not much was blooming just yet) but most zoomed by at unbelievable speeds, barely lifting over the shore pine, and then dropping to probably about 8 feet above the grass as they flew north. The flight started around 8 am and continued all day long until near dark.

This Hummingbird stopped to investigate the flowers I put on the deck, most of the birds few right on by, but I did get quite a few to stop and take a sip before they went back to their journey. They seem to fly at unbelievable speeds, as the eye cannot even focus on the bird as he flies past the yard. It was only when a few were able to stop for a very short visit that I could be sure they were actually hummingbirds!

Flying just over the Hummingbirds, were hundreds of Swallows heading north, as well as a small yellow bird I am not sure about, and something that looked like Starlings. I also saw one V of geese later in the day as well.

Wild Coast Vacations

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NEXT MIGRATION to watch for:

2011 migration should be this week!

So many SPECIALS this year!

2011-03-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

We are running Specials, so be sure to take advantage of these!

Off Season and Shoulder Season prepay Special:

Rent two nights and get the third night free! (except any holiday)
         Prepay for two nights and your third night is free. Some exceptions apply, please see the website
         Specials link for details

Rent 5 nights and get TWO FREE NIGHTS (a week total)
         Prepay for 5 nights and get two additional nights free. Some restrictions apply.

See http://wildcoastvacations.com/ for details!!

SUMMER SPECIAL:

Rent a week, get the seventh night FREE!    This is a prepay Special.

Wild Coast Vacations Video Opportunities

2011-02-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the following videos. They will give you a great overview of Gold Beach and the houses.

Meet Wild Coast Vacations!

This is the narrated house tour (base rate $225)

This is the non-narrated house tour (base rate $150)

This is The Sandpiper. Another beautiful vacation home available for rent