There are several interesting projects happening out at Cape Blanco involving photography, maps and nature — three of our favorite things at Port Orford Historical Photos. The first involves documenting research-grade observations at iNaturalist within a 3-5 mile radius of the historic lighthouse museum. Many thanks to Nathan Malamud for the initiative to get this project underway!

Seashore Lupine (Lupinus littoralis) by Rebecca Malamud-Evans (May 13 2025)

Observations for the designated area can be viewed on a map and you can learn more on the project page. Anyone with an iNaturalist account can participate.

iNaturalist map of observations for the “Diversity of Cape Blanco” project.
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica, Juvenile) by Rebecca Malamud-Evans. The barn swallow is a frequent and highly visible visitor during the Spring migration and Summer season at Cape Blanco.
The Diversity of Cape Blanco project represents many taxonomic groups including species protected in the Cape Blanco Marine Research Area.

Another related project out at Cape Blanco this year involves bioacoustic monitoring of bird species. The results can also be viewed in another map driven interface by BirdWeather.

Birdweather map of observations for the “Cape Blanco Weather Station” project.

The BirdWeather device was installed as part of the Cape Blanco Weather Station Project which started out at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse in 2023. In addition to the bioacoustic monitoring of birds, the instrument has weather reporting capabilities (Temp, Humidity, Pressure, Air Quality, tVOC, CO2, and a Spectral Light Sensor) as well as visual display of area cloud cover in its map interface. Neat!

Interestingly, Charles Peirce, second head keeper at Cape Blanco, began daily log entries covering mostly wind direction and weather, creating the first weather station out at the lighthouse all the way back in 1875. Now thanks to the Cape Blanco Heritage Society (and Oregon State Parks who installed the anemometer), we once again have an amateur weather station at Cape Blanco! Reports are posted once daily here.

The Cape Blanco Weather Station Project (view the weather archives)
Anemometer Installation by Oregon State Parks (CBHS Archives)

Also, if you love maps — be sure to check out our Port Orford Historical Photos map which is updated frequently by our map creative team (Rebecca and Nathan) with new discoveries.

Port Orford Historical Photos map showing the early lighthouse keepers grounds at Cape Blanco. Read more on page 2 in the Cape Blanco Heritage Society’s “News of Note” (November 2024).