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This seabird, the most abundant in Oregon, has recently suffered severe declines or significant population shift in the eastern North Pacific. Similar in shape to thin, long-winged gulls, sooty shearwaters are dark sooty gray with limited amounts of white on the underwing coverts. They glide on wind currents along wave troughs on stiff wings. Gregarious, they form huge loose flocks in migration, often passing for hours within site of land-based observers. In Oregon, it is an abundant summer visitor and transient offshore on the inner shelf and is most numerous three to six miles offshore. Hear the call of the…

These very abundant seabirds are uncommon off Oregon in winter. Their arrival coincides with some of the Pacific Northwest's stormiest weather. Complicating detection difficulties is their identification; they look very much like the abundant sooty shearwaters - all dark, but slightly smaller with shorter bills and tails. Studied on their Tasmanian breeding grounds continuously for over 45 years, once they leave for the open ocean little is known about them. Popularly know as "muttonbirds," they have been harvested as food for centuries on their southern seas breeding islands. Even today, up to 300,000 chicks are harvested in Tasmania each year…

In Oregon, fork-tailed storm-petrels breed in numbers that are only a tiny fraction of those of Leach's storm petrels. This is the larger of the two storm-petrels breeding in Oregon and is gray in color. These birds leave and return to breeding colonies only at night, when they are best detected by their distinct raspy call. At sea, they are distinguished by quick, buoyant flight with short glides interspersed with wing fluttering to maintain their position at a food source. Fewer than 20 nests have been found in Oregon, all located in the same habitat as colonies of Leach's storm…

Of Oregon's breeding seabirds, Leach's storm-petrel is the smallest, most pelagic, and flies the farthest offshore of any of Oregon's breeding seabirds to feed. It spends the non-breeding season in the subtropical and equatorial Pacific. It is the second most abundant breeding seabird in Oregon, and is rarely seen from land or close to shore. It comes to its breeding islands, where it nests in burrows, only under the cover of darkness. Its plumage is black and Oregon populations have a distinct white rump. Leach's storm-petrels are long lived birds characterized by long-term pair bonds and may breed yearly for…

Oregon has two species of pelicans, American white and the Brown pelican, and three species of cormorants. All are fish-eating water birds with four toes joined by webbing. Depending on the species, pelicans and cormorants inhabit the Oregon coast, rivers or interior waterbodies.

Commonly found along beaches and about estuaries, this large, ponderous bird is a conspicuous member of the summer coastal community, easily recognized by its large size, massive bill, and brownish plumage. Highly gregarious, it often forms large flocks; regularly observed foraging over the ocean just offshore. Brown pelicans often join mixed flocks of birds attracted to schools of small fish. They are common spring, summer, and fall visitors along the Oregon coast. Brown pelicans are an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Nearshore ecoregion. Hear the call of the brown pelican Photo by Michael Lazott

Brandt's cormorants nest colonially on offshore islands and mainland cliffs and are the most common of the cormorants on the Oregon coast in summer. In the breeding season, males are easily distinguished by their intense blue gulag pouches, displayed with a skyward pointing of the bill. They also have wispy white plumes along the side of their head and on their back, which show well against the solid black of the rest of their plumage. In bright light they have a green iridescence. During all seasons they can be distinguished from the two other Oregon species by buff-colored feathers that…

Adaptable and opportunistic, the double-crested is the most abundant and widespread of the three cormorant species found in Oregon, occurring inland and on the coast. Adults have deep, coppery feathers, bordered in black, that glisten with a green iridescent and offset a rich orange throat atop a long curved neck. The bird earns its name from plumes, ranging from white to black, that crown either side of the head during the breeding season. The double-crested cormorant is a common breeder in spring and summer at bays and estuaries, and on islands and cliffs along the coast and lower Columbia River…

Seemingly misnamed, pelagic cormorants are rarely seen far from land. During the breeding season the distinct white flank patches contrast markedly with their black plumage. In bright light the slender neck has a purple iridescent sheen, and the back shines green accenting white filoplumes. They nest in loose colonies on ledges on vertical cliffs on rocky islands and headlands. It is common year-round along the entire coast and is not found away from salt water. Hear the call of the pelagic cormorant Photo by ©Greg Gilson

Bitterns, herons, and egrets are all long-legged wading birds with long necks and pointed bills for spearing fish or other prey.

Skulking through wetlands, the American bittern is rarely seen - it has an extremely slow and stealthy walk, and when a threat approaches it freezes and mimics marshland plants with upright posture and beak pointed skyward. These behaviors combined with its cryptic plumage effectively camouflage the bird. However, it is occasionally seen in flight, and its low, gurgling song can be heard over long distances. An uncommon to fairly common breeder east of the Cascades and a rare migrant in Malheur county it has also been noted at mountain lakes east of the Cascades in Lake County. In western Oregon…

The Great egret is much larger than Snowy or Cattle egrets, and has a unique combination of yellow bill, black legs, and a cape of feathers draping beyond the tail in the breeding season. As a breeder, the Great egret is most abundant east of the Cascades, but it is present year-round in the Klamath Basin. It is more common April through November. It is also fairly common to abundant on the south coast except during summer months. In summer, it is rare west of the Cascades, but is a regular local breeder around Coos Bay. In fall, it occurs…