Day 6; Sunday, January 25, 1998 --

What an awesome day!! Only logged in 21 species for the full day's effort,
but it wasn't the quantity, but the quality. Besides, it was mostly high
montane forest winter snow birding. The climb from the Columbia River valley
(Kettle Falls) started out in an ominous fog but steadily turned into an
elevation layered climatic event. Dense fog at the base, breaking out to
overcast overhead, then freezing mist, then fog again (the overcast cloud
deck), then snow, then, poof, I emerged near the top of the pass into crystal
blue and bright sunshine, the high spruce, fir, larch, and Lodgepole Pine
forest cloaked in winter's white. It was like flying out of Kettle Falls in
an airplane. No sooner had I popped out in the sunshine, my eye caught sight
of a flock of dazzling pink and golden jewels in the middle of the road
(rt.20) -- finches! WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS! Whoa baby, stop the car!! :-))

And this was just the beginning. What was going to be maybe a couple of hours
at and near the summit of Sherman Pass turned into an all morning 'til past
noon affair conducting a careful systematic assessment. Sherman Pass is
located about 20 miles east of Republic and 20 miles west of Kettle Falls and
constitutes the states highest maintained year round mountain pass (5,575
feet) on the usually busy busy and dreadfully noisy east-west main line across
northern Washington, rt.20.

Super Bowl Sunday it seems may in fact be one of the quietest days of the year
up here. Every good little American will stay home and be glued to the tube
I'd like to think. There was absolutely NO TRAFFIC up there at all! Gone
were ALL of those god-awful noisy logging trucks, one after another, that
spoil most visits with their forever downshifting and that continuous and most
irritating grating noise that carries for miles and lingers on forever.
Normally if you're trying not to to get run over, your hearing of bird calls
is severely impaired by all that horrible noise. So what a blessing it was
this time. Absolute peace and quiet, except for twice, the State highway snow
plow went by spreading sand ('bird feed') on the snow packed roadway. How
convenient! :-) I say 'bird feed' because that's exactly what it is. The
winter finches love it! And when there is no traffic, it's even better. Get
the picture?

In short, Sherman Pass near the summit was swarming with White-winged
Crossbills. Numerous flocks on both sides, if not down on the road picking
around in the grit, then up in the trees, chattering and 'crackling', flitting
about, glistening in the sunshine against that intense blue sky and white
winter wonderland below. Also, PINE GROSBEAKS, not many, maybe three total,
but sometimes joining the White-winged Crossbills, and Pine Siskins in the
roadway.

I thoroughly combed the pass region from 4 miles east to 4 miles west, which
was essentially the range between the top margins of the fog deck below on
both sides. A devastating lightning sparked forest fire burned over 20,000
acres of prime forest on the upper west slope in 1988 which remains today an
awesome spectacle of tens of thousands of bare stalks of trees. In the past,
this burn site has been notoriously productive for woodpeckers and it's most
notable visitor a few years ago, a Northern Hawk Owl found by Andy
Stepniewski. No hawk owl this visit, but I did finally after several failed
previous attempts, find BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS.

A quick list of species and numbers on Sherman Pass (0800-1230hrs):
BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER (3)
Pileated Woodpecker (1)
Clark's Nutcracker (1)
Common Raven (18)
Mountain Chickadee (34)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (18)
PINE GROSBEAK (3)
Red Crossbill (6)
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (~170)
Pine Siskin (22)

By the time I got to Curlew (the 'town' that is), it was the 'heat' of the
afternoon with 'only' three hours of daylight left. Along the banks of the
Kettle River I answered one of my nagging questions I was about to ask
Tweetsters. In areas where I'd encountered Cedar Waxwings (Lower Crab Creek,
Grant Co., and Joseph Creek Road, Asotin Co., and commonly elsewhere in the
past), I was wondering whether Bohemian Waxwings exhibit the same similar
sallying fly-catching behavior I often observed with Cedar Waxwings on sunny
warm days. Sure enough, there along the Kettle River was a loose flock of
Bohemian Waxwings (15+) doing just that in the bright sunshine and winter
warmth.

With daylight running short, I only had time to make an exploratory run back
up into the high country to the east along Boulder Creek Deer Creek Road. The
weather changed abruptly to fog and snow and frigid cold, this only a few
miles east of Curlew! The pass area (~4600 ft) was heavily locked in winter
and deep snow. This 'looks' like perhaps some fine potential Boreal Owl
habitat with some large and extensive mixed spruce, sub-alpine fir, larch,
Lodgepole Pine, and Douglas Fir forest, so I spent the rest of the day 'til
after dark trying to drum something up. Nothing, plus it was a little windy
in places not to mention the forest being very heavily locked tight and
cloaked in snowy white. The area may not be as good as it seemed, elevation
still perhaps a bit low, and/or perhaps yet still a bit too early in the
season, but I was there, and it was worth a try.

The Kettle River valley around Curlew just looks way to inviting not to spend
a whole day there and must include the 'prime time' morning hours. And so,
that's the plan for today, day 7.
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[CORRECTION!!!! Yesterday I wrote:
"Day 5, Saturday, January 24, 1994 --"
That was a REALLY BAD typo, ...or something?! Obviously it should have read
1998. I shouldn't write this stuff so early in the morning when I'm not yet
quite awake :-(((( I am so embarrassed!! I desperately need an editor before
posting!]
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Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
(on the road -- Republic, Ferry Co., WA)