Peggy and I have visited Florence, Oregon a number of times over the years. It was a short 2 1/2 hour drive from our home above the Upper Applegate River in Southern Oregon. We spent the majority of our visits camped at the Siuslaw Marina. The prices are reasonable, the people friendly, and Old Town, with its good restaurants and fun shops, is within easy walking distance. But there’s more…
The Oregon Dunes are just south of the town. The Devil’s Churn, Thor’s Well, the Sea Lion Caves, and the Heceta Head Lighthouse are just a few miles north. There are even some good kayaking opportunities nearby. In other words, there was alway plenty to keep us amused doing things we love to do.
One thing about our stays at the Marina— we had never been able to obtain a site on the Siuslaw River. They fill up fast. People sign up for them months in advance. This time, because Peggy and I were staying for two weeks, I made our reservations early and we scored a spot on the river. Most of the photos today are taken from our ‘backyard.’ We will be featuring five birds: Great blue herons will provide lessons on preening, a great white egret will share its secrets on fishing, a not so impeccable seagull will teach how to get down and dirty, Canada geese will demonstrate the best way to keep track of kids, and, finally, cormorants will hold a large meeting doing who knows what.
I learned an interesting fact about cormorant intelligence when I was trying to figure out why they were gathering. The can count to seven: “Chinese cormorants on the Li River are allowed to keep every eighth fish they catch. Otherwise they “stubbornly refuse to move again until their neck ring is loosened.”