Ecola Creek Awareness Project

Upcoming events

Mark your calenders for this years Salmon Celebration! Saturday, November 22nd at the Cannon Beach Community Hall (the Chamber Building)

Also, ECAP is working with the City of Cannon Beach on a program that would incorporate all of the natural resource lands into one comprehensive planning process in order to protect and celebrate the ecosystem of Cannon Beach. Currently the vision is being called the Greater Ecola Plan with a concentration on creating a Hub in downtown called the Cannon Beach Natural History Park which would incorporate an interpretive and transportation trail, conservation, and habitat enhancement around the lagoon and Little Pompey areas.

This is a public process and we hope all of our supporters will play a part in this exciting opportunity. Please contact us via email with ideas, suggestions or concerns.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Migration

Driving home today from the studio I saw a turkey vulture on the ground about 10 feet off Highway 101. This was just north of the Warren Way exit into Tolovana Park. Wow!
~Suzanne Kindland

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

In the Estuary

Along with the Great Blue Heron that has been around for a while, a green heron has also been hunting in the Les Shirley Park restored area. A couple of small otters have been sighted as well.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Nature Note: Eagle at the Beach

Photo taken by Rex Amos
An early winter morning, Cannon Beach 2007

Nature Note: Merganser Chicks

Spotted a female merganser with her two chicks at Ecola Creek this morning.

~Jay

Nature Note: Vultures!

Driving home from Manzanita today I saw 2, possibly 3 vultures. Probably turkey vultures, as they were too dark in the wings to be any other kind. Very impressive, with their small red heads and huge wings. They were scouring 101 between Arch Cape and Cannon Beach .

~ Suzanne

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Nature Note: Neahkahnie Violets

Wild violets, yellow and purple, blooming on Neahkahnie Mountain.
Their fragrance filled the air.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Nature Note: Hunting Eagles

This last weekend I saw three immature eagles hunting Bird rock near Chapman point. For the first time I actually saw an eagle capture its prey, a Murre, and then the three headed south and up Ecola Creek.

~ Jay Raskin

Notes in Nature

Ecola Creek Critter

The Barred Owl's habitat is characterized as heavy mature woods with nearby open country for foraging. These vary from upland woods to lowland swamps usually near creeks, lakes or river valleys. These Owls are monogamous and probably pair for life. Nest sites are most commonly in hollows of old trees but they may also use abandoned hawk or crow's nests. The Barred Owl is similar in appearance only to the Spotted Owl and is unlikely to be confused with any other owl. There are some distinct differences that make these two owls distinguishable though. The most visual distinction is that the Barred Owl has brown vertical streaks on its underside where the Spotted Owl has short brown horizontal bars (and spots on its crown). The Barred Owl has an extremely varied diet composed mostly of small mammals, especially small rodents, along with a good percentage of birds up to the size of a pheasant. Their diet is virtually identical to their close but smaller relative the Spotted Owl (Barred Owl is 17-24 inches in length and the Spotted Owl is 16.5-19 inches) giving it an advantage where the territories have begun to significantly overlap in recent history. Once common only in the east, the Barred Owl's range is expanding west, now all the way to the north-west coast of North America, and scientist believe it may be displacing its slightly smaller cousin, the Spotted Owl.