Haystack Rock, Oregon

The metal stairs make a dull clang as I jump down each step. Sand poofs out underneath my feet as I make the final jump and land on the beach. The waves surge onto the sandy beach and a group of pelicans drift over the watery expanse. They veer as one towards a huge rock that juts out of the ocean. People move around it, dwarfed by the column of life. Whenever I am here, I feel dwarfed by it all; the life, the rock, the ecosystem. Everything from the largest eagle to the smallest gunnel fish has a place here. And us humans are just spectators of this spectacular web of life. Haystack Rock looks sooo far away and walking in dry sand takes FOREVER! 

Overhead, a gull flaps vigorously towards the island, weighed down by an immense load of grass and seaweed. He/she looks like a flying Santa Claus! I think, wondering if we will see a lot of Santa Gulls here. Near the waves, a gathering of gulls is quarreling over a fish, the bigger one throwing it out before then barging back into the fray and snatching it up again. I wonder if gulls know the meaning of the word tantalize, because this bigger gull definitely seems to be tantalizing the others. Its thoughts are probably something along the lines of: “Oh, here guys – you want this giant fish? Hey actually I want it back. Sorry!”

We leave them to their shenanigans and continue to trudge along the beach. I busy myself by stepping in the footprints of other people and trying to walk at the same time as my family. Time goes a lot faster and I don’t fall behind easily anymore. We get there in no time and I take in all the birds swirling around the rock like flies on an apple. I eagerly begin scanning the sky for approaching puffins. I am filled with nervous excitement because sometimes they are there and sometimes they are not (I’m talking about you Mr. Bald Eagle!). Soon, a black, football-sized bird comes hurtling towards us, its bright orange beak prominent as it slices through the air and circles the island, coming down to land in the waving grass. TOUCHDOWN! The puffin ducks into its burrow and vanishes from sight. Another one torpedoes across the sky and lands on the other side of the rock. Wings pumping, the first one launches out of its burrow and into the sky, winging its way towards the open ocean. I had hoped to spot an auklet or other unusual bird, but was recently informed they are nocturnal. I was disgruntled upon learning this but wasn’t devastated. They are extremely small and live in burrows so even if they were diurnal, finding them would be a challenge. Volunteers for Friends of Haystack Rock post signs preventing people from climbing on the rocks as well as signs illustrating the boundary. I get as close as allowed and begin to photograph the elaborate and synchronized life on the island. At the very top, the inhabitants are mostly gulls and murres. Further down, puffins nest in the waving grass and cormorants join them a bit later. The lowest elevations are occupied by Pigeon Guillemots and the tidepools are welcome to oystercatchers and Harlequin Ducks. I think about how each individual has its own nook (literally) in Haystack Rock’s ecosystem. Even the Bald Eagle, which only stops by every now and then, has a designated perch at the top. I am not sure where we humans stand but although we are so large, we are also so small compared to the immensity of the rock and the life it harbors. I am so filled with wonder I fail to notice the huge wave rushing towards the crowd and me.

The wave comes out of the blue and, startled, I join the horde of people rushing away. Unfortunately, I am not fast enough and salt water seeps – wait, no, it gushes into my sneakers. I yelp when I accidentally step in a tidepool in the rush to escape the waves.  Ah, shoot, I think as more water finds its way into my shoes. My feet slosh around as I walk back to the safety of dry ground, no longer trying to out pace the wave. My feet are so wet already I don’t mind the wave rushing around my ankles. Soon enough, the water begins to pull back and I rush out onto the newly wet sand, like a sandpiper chasing the waves. Only a small percentage of the original crowd joins me and everyone seems very hesitant. A Black Oystercatcher peeks out from behind a column of rock and regards the humans with alarmed eyes. Beneath it in the receding waters, a Western Gull attempts to consume a starfish. I wonder if the gull is confused, because birds usually swallow prey headfirst and starfish heads are…well I don’t even know if they have heads! I look back up to find the starfish holding open the gull’s beak with its five arms open like it is trying to do a cartwheel. Somehow, the gull opens up its beak even wider and releases the starfish, letting it fall to the ground with a plop! Another wave comes rushing in and sends the gull flying.

I leap up from the ground and walk just faster than the wave, letting it splash the back of my shoe. By the time I reach Mom, Papa, and Lucy, I hang back and watch the wave recede. From here, I can see everything going on at the rock rising above the surf. At the peak, a Common Murre alights and is greeted by numerous members of the murre community. A hoard of pelicans glide in from the sea and disappear into the mist. All too soon we have to go and I walk backwards for a while, watching Haystack Rock grow small in the distance. This marvelous spectacle of life is well worth every moment spent in its shadow.