The talus tailings at the base of the cliffs west of Midway are one of
just maybe two highly localized sites for one or our rarest plants,
Lomatium tuberosum, first discovered here in the 1980s. Don't pick it!

Gene Hunn.

On Thu, 11 Apr 1996 steppie at wolfenet.com wrote:

> >Glad to see that someone else has discovered the area we call Midway. (The
> >substation near the beginning of the road and the town that was once there
> >were called Midway.) The road goes from Highway 24, to just past the Priest
> >Rapids Dam, about 10 miles. The first 7 or so miles are in Benton county,
> >the remainder is in Yakima county for those who keep track. There isn't any
> >sign marking the change.
> >
> >Last July 11, after Ruth Fischer and I went out to observe the reported
> >Mockingbird pair at the Vernita site and discovered the juvenile (north of
> >the Vernita Bridge, 2 miles west on Rt 243), we birded along Midway. There
> >is a grove of trees just before the substation that had at least 60 Common
> >Nighthawks roosting in them. We also found at least 5 Loggerhead Shrike
> >along the road.
> >
> >Bill and I returned to the area because we had been trying to find Canyon
> >Wren in Benton county. We found one. Rock Wren, Chukar, Lark Sparrows, and
> >Say's Phoebes were observed also. We all decided that this would be a good
> >place to check in the spring.
> >
> >Ruth and Phil Bartley made one of the first visits this spring on 3/10.
> >Their best birds were 11 migrating Mountain Bluebirds, 4 Prairie Falcons, 2
> >Canyon Wrens and Say's Phoebes.
> >
> >Bob Woodley, Ruth Fischer, and I returned to Midway this Tuesday, 4/9. We
> >were specifically looking for White-throated Swift. This bird has rarely
> >been seen in Benton county as there is limited high cliff habitat. People
> >have looked for swifts across the Columbia River from the Wallula Gap area,
> >but there is little or no access to the cliffs on the Benton county side
> >there.
> >
> >We did find the swifts. There were approximately 30, 5.5 miles in. We
> >observed swifts earlier, but they were flying above the cliff and against
> >the sky, they appeared totally dark. We were frustrated that they would not
> >cross the cliffs on our side and we could not tell what the tail shape was.
> >At the 5.5 mile location, the birds crossed the face of the cliffs and they
> >were clearly White-throated.
> >
> >We also observed 3 Turkey Vultures. These birds have usually only been seen
> >singly and have only been seen in the range of 10 times in Benton county.
> >Golden-crowned Kinglets were migrating through and were observed all along
> >the route.
> >
> >We will be visiting this area again soon, as we hope to find some of the
> >summer sparrows there. The sage isn't the best quality, but we think we
> >will find Brewer's, Vesper, and Lark Sparrows and have a slim hope of
> >finding Sage Thrasher.
> >
> >-Nancy
> >
> >>For anyone wanting to see chukars, they are just about a sure bet now along
> >>the Columbia River downstream of Priest Rapids dam. From the Vernita Bridge
> >>(approx 10 mi S of Priest Rapids), go west about a mile. Turn north on the
> >>only road, drive past the Hanford property, and past the orchard area, and
> >>watch for the chukars along the road for the next 6 or 7 miles. Should see
> >>several pairs there.
> >>
> >>Dave Nunnallee
> >>dnun461 at ecy.wa.gov
> >>Bellevue, WA
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >Bill and Nancy LaFramboise
> >Richland, WA
> >wlafra at oneworld.owt.com
> >
> Bill and Nancy,
>
> I have been keeping a "Priest Rapids" database for 5 years now - this is a
> unique stretch of Yakima County, having the only still waters in the county
> that remain open all winter. I have documented 160 species here and have
> about 5,000 records for the database. The Benton County portion is proving
> to be unique for that county too - as you are finding.
>
> The shrub-steppe species you are looking for at river level are scarce
> except for Lark Sparrow and Loggerhead Shrikes. To see Sage Thrashers and
> more Sage and Brewer's Sparrows, hike up the dirt road on the east side of
> the Midway substation past "Juniper Springs" to the summit of Umptanum
> Ridge, then head west along the ridge. Look also for Ferruginous Hawks. I
> suspect Vesper Sparrows occur also in the Benton County portion; this
> species is common along Umptamum Ridge in adjacent Yakima County.
>
> I believe Sage Thrashers and sparrows occur about 1.5 miles south of the
> Midway Road at the west end of the big sweeping switchback on Hwy 24. This
> is close to Midway, but note the shrub-steppe has a lusher character here -
> possibly related to soil factors than at Midway. Traffic noise hinders
> birding here and it is often windy, however, I have had both these species
> here several times in spring.
>
> Andy Stepniewski
> Wapato WA
>
>