Pelican and Big Elk Making a Splash on Oregon Coast

Published 07/22/2013

(Oregon Coast) – Don't look now but plenty of elk may be watching you from the forests of the Oregon coast. And lots of them, too. They're being seen a lot near Waldport and near Astoria, while pelicans are abundant now near there as well. (Elk photos Jo Leach, of Oregon Coast Beach Connection and Pampering Campers).

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) notes that plenty of Roosevelt elk are actually year-round residents of Fort Stevens State Park, especially on the north end near Trestle Bay.

The best time to see them is to see them is in the early morning and late evening hours.

“Recently born elk calves should be visible with groups of elk, and can be fun to watch from a distance,” ODFW said. “Although the elk are somewhat tame from living in a part setting, they are still very much wild animals, and should therefore be treated as such. A cow elk can still be very protective of her young if people try to approach too close.”

Around the Waldport and Yachats area of the central coast, Jo Leach – who works for both Oregon Coast Beach Connection and Pampering Campers – spotted lots of them on July 1 near Blackberry Campground on the Alsea River.

Leach said they are the largest, in body weight, of the elk species. (More on this here at her blog.)

ODFW said the Lower Columbia River is host to two species of pelicans in the summer months.

Brown pelicans photo courtesy Whale Watch Center, Depoe Bay

White pelicans were previously known to nest only far inland (mainly eastern Oregon), but started nesting on islands in the lower reaches of the river in recent year, generally above Tongue Point.

There are about 200 that frequent the lower Columbia regularly.

Brown pelicans have been seen starting to move up from California, and are mainly seen along the coastline and the river up to Tongue Point. The brown pelicans will increase in numbers as the summer progresses, and some even attempt to over-winter here.

More on the Oregon coast below: (including elk a Cannon Beach, Florence and Yachats)

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