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Also included here: Day 1: *Lower Crab Creek Report*

Here you go Jim. I haven't heard anything recent from the Okanogan Highland
areas mentioned other than what has been on Tweeters from time to time, lastly
maybe two weeks ago, so I don't think anyone has been there; probably scared
off by kind of snowy and bad pass condition timing on weekends. My gut
feeling is that it's probably still good for the crossbills in the mentioned
spruce groves.

I'm currently over here in your part of the country, down here right now in
Clarkston and Asotin County for a couple of days of 'exploring'. Right now in
the pre-dawn darkness, its densely foggy and I am hoping that it might be a
lowland valley thing along the Snake River and that it will be reasonably
clear above 2500 feet where I'm planning to roam around the in Eastern Blue
Mountain foothills and get up as far and high as possible. Local and forest
service word is that snow cover is pretty light except at the highest areas
and I'm still unclear exactly where I will find the roads gated and closed.
I'll soon find out I guess.

I had a glorious and beautiful sunny calm day yesterday -- mostly in the Lower
Crab Creek area (Grant Co.). The first 8 miles east of Beverly was crawling
with birds everywhere -- mostly 'berry-eaters' like American Robins (~1400)
and Cedar Waxwings (170) working the Russian Olives all through that area.
Not a single Bohemian detected in the bunch! Also impressive were the numbers
of Northern Flickers (36), more than I have seen anywhere in Washington in
winter before, including two *perfect* YELLOW-SHAFTED* -- my first in
Washington -- (gray crown and nape, buff cheeks and throat, black mustache on
both sides, bright red nape mark, and bright lemon yellow wing and tail
linings). Also several very interesting 'hybrid' combinations seen as well.
I think I was getting off on the flickers more than anything else through
there yesterday. Other birds of note at this deserty 'eastside' location
included Hermit Thrush (1), Varied Thrush (1), Marsh Wren (1), Bewick's Wren
(1 -- singing it's head off), Yellow-rumped Warbler (8 -- sprinkled all
through there), and Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3). Also lots of sparrows and 'good
sparrow' potential, but I saw nothing beyond White-crowned, Song, and Juncos
(incl. 1 Slate-colored).

Someone with a couple of days to spend might do well and find some great
things along the stretch of Lower Crab Creek right now. No telling what
'goodies' await by carefully combing the Russian Olives on foot and picking
through everything bird by bird. This area strikes me as an "oasis" for
winter passerines packed up against the otherwise bleak Saddle Mountains and
the rest of the rather bleak and birdless winter desert surroundings.

I'll be up in the totally unknown (to me) Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties in
a couple days. Do you or anyone else here in Eastern Washington have any
WINTER birding tips for these areas of the Northeast corner? I'm especially
on the 'lookout' for northern owls and finches while otherwise just exploring
my instincts and map interpretation (for 'interesting' looking habitat)
skills. Time to get out of here and hit the 'bush'. Good luck in the
Okanogan. --Richard

Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
(on the road -- Clarkston, Asotin Co., Washington)

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From: PAGODROMA <PAGODROMA at aol.com>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Cc: woody at methow.com
Subject: WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS bonanza!!!
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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)

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