August 12-14, 2013

Humbug Mountain State Park, OR

What's so special about Humbug Mountain State Park? 

Facts:  The Park, located on the Oregon coast, is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.  It covers 1,842 acres of land around 1,759-foot Humbug Mountain, one of the highest mountains in Oregon to rise directly from the ocean.

There is an abundance of wildlife in the park.  Perhaps the most notably is the Steller’s Jay, the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains.

 

 

 

    The Steller’s Jay typically lives in flocks of 10 or more and is an omnivore. 

 

 

 

Although beautiful, they can be very devious when it comes to procurement of picnic items left unattended on a table. 

 

 

 

Monte threw out a couple of crackers to see how long it would take for the little scavengers to appear.  It didn’t take long before one showed up to stake his claim by chasing away others as they arrived.

 

 

 

Also in attendance but somewhat elusive is the hummingbird. 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a feeder just outside our dining room window.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These adorable tiny creatures make their appearance know by the distinctive humming sound they make as they flap their wings 12-80 times per second. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The birds have a long bill with a pronounced overlap.  The lower half fits tightly inside the upper half.  When they feed on nectar, they open their bill slightly which allows the tongue to dart in and out into the interior of flowers or feeders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hummingbirds have a high metabolism necessary to support the rapid beating of their wings.  With heartbeats of over 1,000 beats per minute they must consume more than their own weight in nectar each day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When food is not readily available, hummingbirds are capable of slowing down their metabolism by entering into a hibernation-like state in which the heart rate is slowed down, reducing the need for food.

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday we took advantage of the warm sunny day to sit outside and just watch, listen and soak in the nature surrounding us.

Annie meowed and scratched at the door because she wanted to join us outside. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She came down the steps tentatively and sniffed around.

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, I had enough.  Please let me back in.

 

 

 

 

 

Stop being a fraidycat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She bravely came back down the step and started exploring.

 

 

 

 

 

What was that sound? 

 

 

 

 

  

 

I don’t like it out here-please let me back in.

 

We let Annie back in just as a squirrel dropped in for a visit. 

 

 

 

 

 

The timing was good because I think, had Annie seen Mr. Squirrel, she would have overcome her fear of the great outdoors and chased away our visitor.

 

 

 

Oregon is home to the Western Gray Squirrel.   These shy creatures, when disturbed, will run up a tree and give a chirping sound. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess we did not pose a threat to this little guy because he continued to gnaw on his lunch just a few feet away from where we were sitting.

Our site is in the upper loop of the campground.  In the center of the inner loop is a grassy area just teeming with dragonflies, an important predator because they eat mosquitoes. 

Female dragonflies lay their eggs in water.  The eggs hatch into naiads.  Most of the dragonfly’s life, that may last as long as five years, is spent in this stage living beneath the surface of the water.  It climbs up on a plant when the naiad is ready to metamorphose into an adult.  As the skin splits, the adult dragonfly crawls out, pumps up its wings and flies.

 

Dragonflies can propel itself in six directions; side to side, upward, downward, forward and back. 

 

 

 

 

 

Not all creatures in the park are welcome.   I’m referring to the little furry ones who visited without an invitation.  Luckily, for us, the little pests have a ferocious appetite for peanut butter and we are winning the war against the invasion of the mice.

 

After dinner on Tuesday we took a much needed walk stopping along the way to pick the ripening blackberries lining the roadway along the drive that connects the upper loop to the lower loop of the camp.

 

Monte tried to identify the bird perched upon a nearby tree. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What it a barn swallow? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Perhaps it was cliff swallow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

or a white crowned sparrow? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It could have been a black-headed grosbeak. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe it was a Northern Rough Winged Swallow.

 

All of the above call Humbug Mountain home.

 

 

 

 

We stopped along the creek to see the progress the beavers have made with their dam.  Beavers build dams as for protection against predators such as wolves, bears and coyotes.  The dams also provide easy access to food during winter.   Beavers are great builders, often working at night.  The dam here at the park has changed the flow of water in the creek.  This dam was begun when we first arrived at Humbug Mountain at the beginning of July.  It has been interesting watching the progress.

The creek is also home to salamanders.  Monte caught one the morning of our first program on salamanders.  He changes out the water from the tank with creek water every few days.  The kids really get a kick out of being able to see a live salamander when we do the program.  After the last program for the season we will return him to the creek where we found him.

The lower loop camp hosts, Mahlon and Deralynn, were outside their site so we stopped to chat for a few minutes.

It was such a lovely evening so we decided to take a walk down to the beach. 

 

 

 

 

 

The last couple of times we were at the beach we didn’t stay long because of sand being constantly blown into our eyes from the strong winds.  But this evening the winds were tolerable. 

 

This is where the creek flows into the ocean. 

 

 

 

 

The sea gulls found the perfect spot to feast on the tiny trout as they flow out to the ocean. 

 

 

 

 

There were other people taking advantage of the beautiful evening.  Some braved the cold water to swim, others flew kites and some, like Monte and I, just walked along the shore holding hands. 

 

 

 

 

The beach is a popular whale watching area where gray whales may be seen year-round.  We haven’t seen any whales during our stay at Humbug Mountain State Park but we did spot several just a few miles north while staying at Cape Blanco in June.

Before we left the beach we stopped to take some shadow pictures.

The trail from the beach back to the camp goes under a Highway 101 overpass.  Hundreds of cliff swallows have taken residence.  American Cliff Swallows build conical mud nests in large colonies.  They lay 3-6 eggs on cliffs and beneath overhangs. 

Another activity available at Humbug Mountain State Park is, of course, camping.  There are approximately 40 electrical sites with water and more than 55 tent sites with water nearby, a communal dump station and very clean restrooms and hot showers. 

There is a hiker-biker area with a very reasonable rate of $5/per person.  During our stay at the campground we have met many cyclists either working their way north or south along the coast.  One couple on a tandem bike from New Zealand, began their biking tour in Canada and are slowing biking their way down to Mexico. 

For hikers, Humbug Mountain State Park offers two trails, both part of the Oregon Coast Trail, that run from the campground to the mountain’s summit. 

Wednesday-Back to work.  We picked up the cart from the ranger station at 9:20, started our program on butterflies at 10AM and were back home by 11:15.  Tough job.   We didn’t have any other duties until 5PM for firewood sales until 8PM. 

So, what is so special about Humbug Mountain State Park?

In addition to its natural setting, mild climate and abundance of fresh ocean and mountain air, one of the special things about the park, is the staff who are friendly and helpful and really appear to like their jobs. 

We have enjoyed our stay at Humbug Mountain State Park that has enabled us to explore the area, meet some really great people (campers and co-camp hosts), save a little money by getting a free site in exchange for simply presenting JR Ranger programs and getting to work with a great group of rangers especially Greg, the ranger in charge of the interpretive programs.

(If you think you might be interesting in camp hosting or interpretive hosting at either Cape Blanco or Humbug Mountain State Park, contact Greg at

greg.ryder@state.or.us