10 Sep And Now I’m Running Downhill: The Season Flies
One minuet it was May, I blinked and now I am over halfway through and approaching the end of my 2026 season.
This summer has flown by and I have gone from pushing up hill through new challenges and experiences, to feeling like I am running down hill approaching the end at speeds faster than I could have anticipated. But I guess that is how the saying goes right? Time flies when you are having fun… and man oh man have I been enjoying my time in the Siuslaw.
From butterflies and birds to visitor services and guided hikes, the diversity of projects and events I have been involved in has made my cup overflowing with amazing experiences and educational interactions with so many people visiting the Oregon Coast. It really does feel insane trying to list out all of the different things in the short 4 months it has been since I began this journey with the Siuslaw.
I have touched on some events in previous post I have gotten to be apart of or lead such as tabling at the Oregon Coast Aquarium Worlds Oceans Day Event in June where I interacted with almost 400 people visiting that day. Or UTV takeover down in the dunes where we got to talk about OHV safety, wildlife of the coast and sharing the sand with threatened species like the Snowy Plover while recreating in the dunes. Some newer events I also have loved being involved in includes running multiple education stations in partnership with Corvallis Parks and Recreation summer day camps. I got to lead a lesson on Riparian systems and the animals that inhabit them for kids ages 9-12, as well as one about Snowy plovers for kids ages 6-8 later that day. Getting thank you cards from the campers made my heart full and was a great reminder as to why this work is so important!
I also got the opportunity to table multiple times at the Oregon Coast Aquarium as part of their ‘Conservation Wednesdays’ talking to visitors casually about threatened species of the Oregon Coast through educational materials and interactive games. As well as biweekly tabling in the dunes related to OHV safety, Snowy Plovers, and Dunes geology!
Another big education project I has been campground programs! Almost every Friday evening since July I have gotten to go to Honeyman State Park Campground as a guest speaker and put on fun interactive ranger talk presentations. Topics include Dune plants, Animal Adaptations, as well as two topics I put together which is Introduction to Foraging and Nocturnal Animals of the Oregon Coast! These presentations have been so fun and have anywhere from 30-70 visitors!
Now that I have filled you all in on some of the more sporatic events I have gotten to be apart of this summer I want to provide some updates about the wildlife projects I have gotten to assist consistently throughout this season!
First off, the Oregon Silverspot Butterflies. As the flight season has peaked my love and fascination for these butterflies has only grown as I have to gotten to get up close looks and interactions with these fluttery creatures. At least once a week for the last month and half I have gotten to venture into to the coastal meadows of the Siuslaw with binoculars and butterfly net in hand, not only spotting already marked individuals to monitor their movement but also located, capture, and mark new ones while observing their behavior, identifying sex, and examining the weathering of their wings.
Adults live for roughly 30-40 days, so this process of mark and resight is essential to monitoring the population and estimation of reproduction that could be occurring during that time. Recently we have also assisted alongside USFW to collect two females that will then go back into the captive breeding program I spoke about in a previous post, to then produce larvae that eventually be released during the next season to help hopefully boost the wild populations and keep these beautiful butterflies from disappearing from out coastal ecosystems.
The last project I want to talk about is of course, the adorable Snowy Plover populations of the Oregon Dunes I have been helping to monitor and protect through their nesting season. I have become quite the plover expert and professional plover spotter!
As the season has moved I have been able to help spot tons of plovers during driving surveys along the beaches, looking for little round birds blending in with the sand with amazing percision. Along with this we have moved from looking for signs of nests to looking for the babies that have hatched as their nesting season is coming to a close, and alas… Baby plovers have been spotted!
Seeing the little awkward leggy chicks resembling cotton balls on toothpicks has been a peak highlight of this season! These sightings has helped to bring some comfort and hope for the future populations as they grow slow but steady.
Well, thank you to everyone for reading through another update… and now there is only a few left. I truly have felt so fulfilled this season and cannot believe that there is only a little over a month left. I am excited to see what this later half of the season has in store for me.Talk to you guys again soon!
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