Oregon Birding (continued)

The Oregon Coast Birding Trail is not a hiking trail for birders.

It is a self-guided driving tour that highlights 173 birding destinations all along the coast. The trail traces more than 500 miles of existing roads. The primary route is Highway 101 stretching 400 miles from Astoria through Del Norte County, California, with some sites on side roads.

No signs indicate birding sites.

But the 52-page, glossy, full-color Oregon Coast Birding Trail guide makes it easy to find each of the 173 birding destinations as you drive along. Each site’s write-up includes directions, information about the site, and birds that you can expect to see. Within the guide is a checklist of coastal birds, and it’s chock full of other coastal birding information.

The Birding Trail represents two years of effort.

A grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and the Department of Land & Conservation Development kick-started the project, and a steering committee was formed. During 2005, it was the expertise of Steve Shunk of Community Solutions, who had previously been involved with the Cascades Birding Trail, that gave direction to the project, and from beginning to end, the consistent leadership of Dawn Grafe, public-use specialist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, kept the project on course.

Public meetings were held in nearly every town on the coast during 2005 to promote support for the birding trail and begin fund-raising for the estimated $250,000 cost of the project. A grant from the National Forest Foundation and fiscal sponsorship through the Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) in late 2005 continued the forward momentum.

More than 200 site nominations flooded the Web site from birders all over the state and several bird experts spent months reviewing each birding site before winnowing down to the 173 finalists. Then came the nitty-gritty work of writing up the nominations, editing and fact checking, choosing photos, assigning sponsorships, placing ads, and working out the details of publishing a guide. Meanwhile, fund-raising continued with nearly 40 coastal cities, counties, private businesses, government agencies, and conservation organizations paying more than half the costs through sponsorships of individual sites and advertising in the guide.   

Finally, in October 2006, the guide went online (www.OregonCoastBirding.com) and by mid-December 2006 the glossy, printed version became available. Best of all, the guides are free and can be found at local tourism offices, state welcome centers, chambers of commerce, and state park and national forest stations and offices, and the Oregon Coast magazine office in Florence.

The Oregon Coast Birding Trail will be officially dedicated on International Migratory Bird Day on May 12, 2007, at several birding sites along the coast. The dedication sites have not yet been determined. Check the Web site for up-to-date information.

The Oregon Coast Birding Trail is one of several.

In Oregon, where more than a quarter of the population consider themselves birders, the Oregon Coast Birding Trail is the fourth of up to eight planned birding trails. Other trails completed in Oregon include the Cascades Birding Trail, Klamath Birding Trail, and the Basin and Range Birding Trail. The Oregon birding trails follow a growing trend of birding trail development across the United States that began in Texas almost 12 years ago and now totals more than 40 in at least 25 states. 

You don’t have to be an expert.

Birding trails are for all levels of birders from full-fledged ornithologists to those with backyard feeders to those who just want to see some interesting birds. The trails are designed to promote sustainable tourism by bringing birding tourists to communities that are only too happy to provide lodging, food, and other services. And, hopefully, these communities will recognize that birders, as well as other wildlife watchers, create a viable tourism income, which in turn encourages communities to PROTECT their open spaces and wildlife habitat.  

For more information in planning a trip to the Oregon Coast, contact OCVA (888-628-2101; www.VisitTheOregonCoast.com).