Wow Richard, what a list. I this know, you would do it again.Remember you
Okanogan Co. Jan.29-31?
No meal stops, no toilet breaks, no Motels allowed.On this Trip to the
Okanogan Highlands you tally was:41 species and 1120 individual birds.
ye I kept you transcript all this time, which me and patrick used for some
later fieldtrips the Place where you had all the WHITE-WINGET CROSSBILL,we
had the 3 Great Gray Owls this sommer I envy you to see this birds so close
and so manny. you would have a hard time to get me going away from this
spectacular display.I also remember, Patrick David Nunallee and I tryed for
the Boral Owl along the Oroville- Toroda Creek Road,0.0 miles west of the
torado Creek junction, we played the Boreal Owl tape this is not funny,but
a Northern Pygmy-Owl responded instead.Okanogan is our Trip every year in
the beginning of june, all camping.I have to go in the winter now, to get
all the other Species only found during winter.
Richard you are one hell of a Adventurer!!!
Ruth
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net

----------
> From: PAGODROMA <PAGODROMA at aol.com>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Cc: woody at methow.com
> Subject: WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS bonanza!!!
> Date: Monday, December 29, 1997 1:08 PM
>
> My, it feels like balmy Miami around here (Seattle) this morning! I've
just
> returned from CBC's up in the Okanogan -- 'Twisp' on Saturday (12/27) and
my
> own party of 'one' and *unofficial* 'Okanogan Highlands' on Sunday
(12/28).
>
> The *Okanogan Highlands* Top Six:
> WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL --- 315 (!!)
> Red Crossbill --------------------------- 262
> Common Redpoll ---------------------- 228
> Pine Siskin ------------------------------ 140
> Mountain Chickadee ----------------- 132
> Bohemian Waxwing ------------------ 50
>
> Other honorable mentions: Green-winged Teal (12), Sharp-tailed Grouse,
Great
> Gray Owl, Saw-whet Owl, Song Sparrow, Snow Bunting, and Pine Grosbeak.
>
> So, you Washington bird chasers; if ever you want to see WHITE-WINGED
> CROSSBILLS, now is the time and here's the place to go and it's easy!
DeLorme
> p115, T38N, R29E, NW corner Sect.22. Heading northeast from Tonasket,
take
> the Tonasket-Havillah road and follow the signs to the Sitzmark Ski Area.
1/4
> mile north of the ski area and at the intersection with Hungry Hollow
Road
> (turning east) is a large isolated forest of heavily cone-bearing spruce.
The
> White-winged Crossbills were all over the place in here and easily
detectable
> and visible by just walking along the two roads. Along here alone, my
best
> count-estimate was 225 (low 180, high 300+). Lots of beautiful gorgeous
adult
> males.
>
> Alternatively, if you have a retractable sun (bird?) roof in your car,
you can
> just sit there and bird in 'real style', making little pishing noises
> interspersed with pygmy owl toots, and have the crossbills drop out of
the
> trees to hover overhead at arms reach like colorful ornaments just
waiting to
> be plucked out of the sky! Deja vu! Indeed! This White-winged
Crossbill
> scenario happened to me once before a couple of years ago in this exact
same
> spot! I wouldn't even consider birding up there, even at -20F without
the
> sunroof and side windows open at all times!
>
> The call notes are quite distinctive from the much more widespread and
> ubiquitous Red Crossbill, found everywhere in the Okanogan Highlands.
When a
> flock of 100 or so are flying around moving from tree to tree, enmass
they
> sound exactly like the soft electrical crackling one might hear when
standing
> under a high voltage power line. Another tip: Don't waste your time
looking
> for White-winged Crossbills in Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pines. Those
mostly
> little groups are virtually ALL Red Crossbills. White-winged's prefer
spruce,
> and in the Highlands, especially it seems, those smaller isolated patches
> scattered around the mostly open and sweeping rangeland hills. I found
White-
> winged Crossbills on Sunday's outing in nearly every one of those small
> parcels of spruce. Is this an eruption or what?! This was more
White-winged
> Crossbills outside Alaska than the sum total I've seen in my entire life!
>
> If you have never seen Red Crossbill up close and personal, there is no
excuse
> for not doing so in the Okanogan Highlands. If you still can't get a
> satisfying bead on them, then just give up and try stamp collecting '-)
Red
> Crossbills are everywhere and one of the most ubiquitous trademark
species
> (along with Mountain Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch) of the whole
area!
> If you are driving snow-covered roads, watch for a fall of fresh Douglas
Fir
> cones in the road. There will be Red Crossbills right over your head,
quietly
> and not so quietly snipping the cones off and dropping them to the
ground. A
> lot of the Red Crossbills were in full song now, giving a call of
something
> familiar from back east -- like a Carolina Wren or something similar.
>
> I have only posted directions to the most readily accessible and easiest,
and
> I'd like to think for now, 'guaranteed' White-winged Crossbill spot. I'm
not
> mentioning some of the others as most are accessible on mostly unplowed
and
> untracked 'primitive' roads. At least this was the case all day Sunday
with
> only the mainlines, Tonasket-Chesaw, Oroville-Chesaw, and Oroville-Toroda
> Creek southeast out of Chesaw plowed of the fresh 4" powder which fell
> overnight, and those only by around mid-day. Unless you are adequately
> prepared to drive those snow covered roads, have the proper vehicle and
self
> confidence to do so, and familiar with some of those 'primitive' areas,
it
> might be advisable to just stick to the main roads which are often icy
and
> snow covered or snow packed enough and a bit treacherous. At least if
you get
> in trouble, there will likely soon be a local coming along offering to
assist.
> I'd suggest and advise NOT doing what I do all too often and just
stopping and
> jumping out of the car in the middle of the road, a nasty and dangerous
habit
> I'm trying to overcome. If you are parked along any of the roads up in
this
> nosey neighborly remote country, nearly everyone stops anyway to see if
you
> need help or just inquire what you are doing.
>
> Some of the other species that you might be interested in looking for:
>
> COMMON REDPOLL -- Numerous flocks scattered here and there and at least
twice,
> mixed with the White-winged Crossbills feeding on the spruce cones.
However,
> best bets are in areas of catkin laden alders which grow extensively
along the
> Meyer's Creek valley and through the middle of Chesaw, up the Mary Ann
Creek
> Road, W & NW of Chesaw, and any other areas where you come across them
alder
> thickets. In Chesaw, I found one flock of 50 Common Redpolls feeding in
the
> alders right along the north side of the road in the center of 'town'
where
> Meyer's Creek crosses the road (there is also an active feeder there),
and a
> flock of 50 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS right across the street. I carefully
> scrutinized every redpoll I encountered for something a little more
robustish,
> paler, frosty, and 'stub-nosed' but found nothing even remotely
suggesting
> anything other than Commons. Still, as a matter of course, ALL redpolls
> should always be carefully examined for that one 'odd' Hoary which
probably
> has a better chance of showing up in Washington in Chesaw than perhaps
any
> other location in the state.
>
> PINE GROSBEAK -- In the 'Great Gray Owl woods', Highland Snow Park, 1
mile SE
> of Havillah. Just a by chance sighting and probably a longshot to
refind.
> They (it) could be anywhere. I started at first light there for owls.
> However, the place was totally stone dead silent and shrouded in a dense
pall
> of freezing fog. Not a peep. Then, low and behold, the very first bird
of
> the day started to *sing* -- turned out to be a beautiful male Pine
Grosbeak.
> I hadn't heard one for so long but knew it was something that had to be
> 'good', completely different and unfamiliar as I'd forgotten what they
sounded
> like and had to chase it down. I only saw one; there could have been
more but
> it was so foggy, one was the best I could do. The next three birds in
order
> were Snow Bunting, Common Redpoll, and White-winged Crossbill. Those
were the
> first four species in a row within the first 30 minutes; what an
auspicious
> start!! :-))
>
> GREAT GRAY OWL -- returned to the Havillah / Highland Snow Park area in
time
> for a fog-free gorgeous dusk. The Great Gray Owl for once was sitting
right
> out in the open and obvious along the side of the entrance road, 1/4 mile
off
> the main Tonasket-Havillah Road. Way too easy! This is in the first
large
> meadowy area *before* coming to the first strip of trees which separate
the
> west meadow from the interior meadow a mile or so further east -- the one
with
> the house and barn. It was much more owly back in here at dusk and at
the end
> of the day than it was at the start. Several Great Horned were heard as
was a
> SAW-WHET, tooting relentlessly and heard from the snow park parking lot
about
> 2 miles along at the end of the wheeled access drive. I didn't have to
> 'molest' any owls to get them started. They contributed to the count
strictly
> on their own.
>
> SHARP-TAILED GROUSE -- single bird at the Sharp-tailed Grouse WMA, 2
miles
> west and 1-1/2 miles north along Mary Ann Creek Road. Riparian areas on
the
> west side is often best and I have still never had to even get out of the
car
> to see this bird here. Good REDPOLL habitat along here too.
>
> If you are up roaming around the Okanogan Highlands, keep this thought
and
> image foremost at ALL times; HAWK OWL!! There has to be a Northern Hawk
Owl
> or two up here!! I hear tantalizing reports form locals from time to
time and
> I've spent countless hours scanning every raptor and every tree top,
snag,
> rockpile, woodpile, roof top, and fence post, in this endlessly forest
and
> tree dappled sweeping and rolling range land. Still no luck, but one
day, 'my
> ship WILL come in'. I intend to see one HERE before I go running off to
chase
> one anywhere else! Likewise, Great Gray's could be in a million
different and
> all good looking spots. Wintering Boreals I believe are likely here as
well,
> especially in the spruce groves but will just require a lot of night
work, a
> hard thing to do after an intensive day of birding, then facing an often
> brutally long and cold night a long way from the warmth of a motel room
in
> Tonasket or Oroville. The White-winged Crossbill grove looks as good as
any.
>
> I've got to seriously organize the "Okanogan Highlands" CBC and make it
> official; recruit all the power birders from around the state plus
everyone
> else who might enjoy the never disappointing serene beauty up there and a
good
> romp in the snow. As it was this time, it was a mad dash just to get to
and
> superficially cover only 1/3 of all the high spots within a proposed
count
> circle which I drew up a few years ago. Due to the vast network of roads
and
> 100% of the circle contains a 'good' route -- there are NO bad birding
routes
> in this count circle -- I planned it this way! :-)) There is something
here
> for everyone, except maybe a pelagic trip, if you like to walk or hike,
cross-
> country ski, snow mobile, or do it by car. Whatever the method, none can
go
> wrong.
>
> I recorded ONLY 33 species (missed a lot of 'easy' ones), 1,323
individuals.
> I blew off a sapsucker (left unid. and a good bird) that flew by while I
was
> distracted and wasting 20 precious minutes trying to turn a distant lump
on
> the top of lone Douglas Fir into a Northern Hawk Owl. It turned into a
much
> further away Rough-legged Hawk than I thought thus the smallish
appearance.
> "F***!!" A typical 3-4 day winter expedition it takes to scout the
circle
> properly and thoroughly should tally 50 5 or so. Don't expect to
piddle
> around much with count padding species like waterfowl. If any at all,
there
> won't be many. Myer's Creek through Chesaw, I like to think, is the
clear
> gateway to Washington for wintering Canadian arboreal birds. The count
circle
> in the Highlands can at times be owl heaven. Always the eternal
optimist, I
> firmly believe at least for now that all three of Washington's most
sought
> after owl species (Northern Hawk, Great Gray, and Boreal) are accessible
and
> could be located here with some serious focused effort on a Christmas
Bird
> Count.
>
> --------------------
>
> Results of the **unofficial** 1997 Okanogan Highlands CBC, Washington
> Party of one (me), Total party miles/hours: car (84 / 8), foot (1 / 2.2)
> Hours: 0700-1712hrs (10.2hrs)
> Percent of count circle covered: ~30% (lots of holes!!)
> Weather: Snow overnight, ending by first light. Mostly overcast, areas of
> freezing fog (early am & late pm), partly sunny late afternoon, wind
mostly
> calm.
> air temperature: 14-28F.
> snow cover: 4" fresh powder overnight (2" at Havillah) on top of little
or no
> base.
> open water: lakes = 95% frozen; trickling streams = 80% open.
>
> Total species = 33 (lots of common 'misses')
> Total individuals = 1,323 (72% winter finches; 44% were crossbills)
>
> Mallard (42)
> Green-winged Teal (12) -- good Highlands winter record I think
> Bald Eagle (1) -- immature
> Northern Harrier (1)
> Red-tailed Hawk (4)
> Rough-legged Hawk (7) -- 6 light, 1 dark
> California Quail (6)
> Sharp-tailed Grouse (1) -- see reference above
> Rock Dove (1)
> Great Horned Owl (3)
> Great Gray Owl (1) -- see reference above
> Saw-whet Owl (1) -- see reference above
> Belted Kingfisher (1) -- heard only, sex unknown
> Downy Woodpecker (2)
> Hairy Woodpecker (7)
> woodpecker sp.? (2)
> sapsucker sp.? (1)
> Clark's Nutcracker (1)
> Black-billed Magpie (7)
> Common Raven (33)
> Black-capped Chickadee (10)
> Mountain Chickadee (132)
> Red-breasted Nuthatch (48)
> Golden-crowned Kinglet (1)
> Bohemian Waxwing (50) -- see reference above
> Song Sparrow (1)
> Snow Bunting (1) -- in dense freezing fog, maybe more?
> Pine Grosbeak (1) -- in dense freezing fog, maybe more?
> Red Crossbill (262)
> White-winged Crossbill (315) !!!! -- see notes above!
> Common Redpoll (228) -- see notes above
> Pine Siskin (140)
>
> Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
> 47.56N, 122.13W
> (Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)