RHH's photos with the keyword: natural area

In 2021 we had our family vacation on the Oregon coast and made a day trip to Yaquina Head. This is the lighthouse on the headland, but there are usually seals on the beach below, tide pools to explore and thousands of seabirds on the seastacks off the headland. It is also a good place to watch for migrating whales.

We are leaving for home today but have been away for nearly two weeks. We were first in Oregon near the coast staying with family in a house on the Wilson River near Tillamook. We spent a week there exploring the coast and enjoying family time and then went to western Washington for a backpacking excursion with our oldest daughter and time with our youngest son and family. We are going to pick strawberries later this morning and then head for home. The photo is of the lighthouse at Yaquina Head Natural Area, one of our favorite places on the Oregon coast. The area, near Newport, Oregon, not only features this beautiful lighthouse, but seastacks, thousands of seabirds, whales, seals, tide pools and beautiful scenery. We drove there from Tillmook last Friday, a beautiful day, stopping at various beaches and viewpoints along the way and then enjoying this wonderful place which many of the family had not seen.

This Turkey Vulture was photographed at Yaquina Head along the Oregon coast. It was apparently looking for something to eat in the seabird colonies there, whether chicks that had died or were unprotected we could not tell.

These photos of new growth on conifers were taken at Yaquina Head Natural Area in Oregon. I believe these are Sitka Spruce, a tree that in favored locations grows to be over 170 feet tall (52 m) but along the coast is often little more than a gnarled shrub.

These photos of new growth on conifers were taken at Lost Creek State Park along the Oregon coast. I believe these are Sitka Spruce.

These Sitka Spruce and their new growth were photographed at Lost Creek State Park along the Oregon coast.

These Sitka Spruce were photographed at Yaquina Head along the Oregon coast.

Harbor Seals are almost always present at Yaquina Head and we were not disappointed when we looked for them on the rocks below the headland. Their thick skins are sufficient protection, too, against the sharp-edged mussels that cover the rocks at tide level.

This Harbor Seal had come down off the rocks and was waiting, or so it seemed, for the waves to come and carry him away. He was photographed at Yaquina Head in Oregon.

Seals out of the water always look like like big slugs to me These were photographed at Yaquina Head in Oregon.

While at Yaquina Head Natural Area we spent a lot of time down on the beach watching the seals, exploring the tide pools and looking for other wonders to photograph. These photos were all taken from the beach which is an area of granite cobbles above the tide line.

This was the view to the south from Yaquina Head Natural Area near Newport, Oregon. we were exploring the tide pools when this photo was taken.

Yaquina Head is one of our favorite areas along the Oregon coast. It is west of Newport, Oregon, and a wonderful place to watch sea life. The photo was taken from the beach on the south side of the head, really a wide area of granite cobbles some of which are visible in the photo.

Yaquina Head is near the town of Newport, Oregon, and has been designated an area of outstanding natural beauty. Its lighthouse is its most prominent feature but it a good place to watch whales migrating in spring or autumn, it has huge seabird colonies, a wonderful beach made of polished pieces of black granite where the tidepools are full of sea life and where seals can be seen. It is one of our favorite places on the Oregon coast.

This was the view from Yaquina Head when we visited there on our trip through Washington, Oregon and California. Yaquina Head is west of the town of Newport, Oregon, and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is known for its seabird colonies, for the seals and whales that are almost always in the area and for its lighthouse.

This is a colony of Common Murres or Common Guillemots at Yaquina Head where they nest in huge numbers on the sea stacks along with other seabirds. While we were watching them a Turkey Vulture appeared and flew back and forth over the colony apparently looking for dead birds or for a meal of some kind.

The second day on the Oregon coast brought us from Cape Kiwanda to Yaquina Head near Newport. The day started foggy and dull but by mid-morning the fog had cleared. This was taken at Yaquina Head and was the view south along the coast.

These are photos of a few of the wildflowers we found at Catherine Creek Natural Area. The area is along the Columbia River and we visited there before following the Columbia further west and crossing into Oregon.