Yaquina Bay (Idaho Point)
Seasons
Checklists
Location
To reach Idaho Point, cross the Newport bridge going south toward Walport. From the south end of the bridge, travel 0.5 miles and turn left (east) on 35th Street. Take 35th for 1.3 miles and scan the bay at turnouts and breaks in the trees. At the end, you will come to a dilapidated campground. You can check the point here but don’t loiter too long. 38th Street continues around the point and offers more views of the bay and mud flats. The best time is from near high tide to mid-tide as it is waning. Reverse this route to return to Hwy 101.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
The mouth and embayment areas of lower Yaquina Bay have been designated a State Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society of Portland because it regularly hosts thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds in season. The American Bird Conservancy in October 1998 also designated most of the tidelands and submerged lands downstream from Toledo Airport a Continentally Important Bird Area because it provides habitat for continentally important numbers of Western Gulls and Nationally significant numbers of Black Brant, Whimbrels, Western Grebes, Sanderlings, Mew Gulls, and Caspian Terns. One or more adult Bald Eagles are often perched on pilings, sticks, or even mud during low tide at Yaquina Bay embayments (see Sally’s Bend and OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center Nature Trail below) throughout the year. If you are looking for shorebirds, you might follow this advice provided by Darrel Faxon, “At Yaquina Bay best time to look for shorebirds is on the incoming tide, at the latter stages of a mid range high tide (6.5 or lower), or earlier stages of a high range tide (7.0 and higher). But good luck in either case. Since development on the bay about twenty years ago wiped out the high tide roosting area for shorebirds, any time the tide reaches a level higher than about 6.5, the shorebirds have little place to go. As a result, there are often many days during even peak shorebird migration, and at optimum tide, in which there are very few shorebirds present.
Nearby Birding Locations
- Perpetua Bank/Pelagic Site - 35 Miles Offshore, - Boat Trip
- OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center Nature Trail
- Oregon Coast Aquarium
- South Beach State Park
- Sally's Bend
- Northwest 68th Street Scoter Spot
- Toledo Public Boat Launch
- Port of Newport/Public Fishing Pier
- Yaquina Bay State Park
- Yaquina Bay Road
- Depot Slough Interpretive Trail
- Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area
- South Jetty Yaquina Bay
- Mike Miller Educational Trail
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