Birding In Coos County
The best source for detailed birding information in Coos County is the authoritative book “Birds of Coos County, Oregon Status and Distribution”, by noted local birding expert Tim Rodenkirk. This book is available for free in PDF format, and may be downloaded from the link below. The third edition is available here as of 4/2/2025.
Download “Birds of Coos County” PDF
The book is accompanied by bar charts detailing seasonal abundance and other summary information for every species in Coos County. This is also available for free, and may be downloaded from the link below. The third edition is available here as of 4/2/2025.
Download Species Bar Charts PDF
One of the most challenging bird identification problems in Coos County is gulls. Tim Rodenkirk has also shared his expertise in this area, with a set of four “gull sheets”, downloadable below. Each sheet describes two similar species, with discussions of age specific appearance and how to tell each species from the one(s) it is commonly confused with. The sheets are designed to be usable in the field, either in simple printed form, inserted back to back in a clear plastic cover of some kind, or laminated back to back.
Download Western & Glaucous-winged Sheets
Download California & Short-billed Sheets
Download Herring & Thayer’s Sheets
Download Kittiwake & Bonaparte’s Sheets
EBird.org is another valuable source of information. While not as authoritative about local details as Tim’s book, the hotspot bar charts are quite informative about what species may be expected at different times of year at those locations. Here are links to the bar charts for some of the more important EBird hotspots in Coos County, listed in approximately north to south order.
Coos Bay Area
North Spit–old Weyco Settling Pond & deflation plain
Bandon Area
Bandon Marsh NWR–Ni-Les’tun Overlook
Bandon Marsh NWR–Observation Deck
Kronenberg County Park–Coquille Point
New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Cape Arago Audubon Society 