I drove out from Seattle this morning and got to Corfu around 2pm, couldn't
find a single crane. Having to run an errand in Prosser, I was doing most of
my birding at 70 mph, and made just a few brief stops. I had to console
myself with a puddle of Dodson Road waterfowl (avocets, stilts, redheads,
teal, pintails,...) before racing back to the west side.

The solo drive left me so bleary-eyed that I certainly missed quite a few
birds, and by the afternoon hours the winds had picked up considerably. I
had about a 40 knot headwind going west over the Columbia. The kestrels on
the wires had to really hunker down to keep from getting blown off! At times
the dust storms led to near zero visibility.

South of Ellensburg I came across a very sad scene, a distraught ring necked
pheasant watching over his injured hen in the middle of the Canyon road. I
stopped and moved her over to the brush so the pair could have a few last
moments together without the threat of further traffic encounters.

Thanks to Deborah-Wisti Peterson for the tip on the make-out sites in the
Wahluke NWR! Just driving along highway 24 was very impressive in itself.

Just east of Easton over I-90 were 4 turkey vultures, buffeted by the west
winds.

Got back to Seattle at 6.

Kevin Li


>
> hello tweets.
>
> my partner and i went birding yesterday (sunday) in the othello
> and yakima areas, and saw many species of birds, despite our
> short time wandering through this area (we left for home at 230
> pm because it started raining and we were just so tired after
> crawling out of bed at 400 that morning!).
>
> the highlights included; the migrating sandhill cranes that were
> in the fields to the east of "B SW" and north of lower crab
> creek road. i watched several thousand of them glide in over the
> hills, and then as i watched them touch-down, i realized that the
> fields were *grey* with them! and this flock stretched on and on
> for perhaps a mile. a week or two ago, randy hill (i think it was)
> had estimated this flock to be around 10,000 birds: well, they all
> were present yesterday!
>
> other highlights included the lovely american avocets, looking
> like they were dressed in their finest evening wear, and the elegant
> long-billed curlew. we also came eyeball-to-eyeball with an adult
> chukar, who then disappeared into the sagebrush, along with an
> unknown number of friends and relatives. and i cannot leave out
> my childhood bird buddies, the western meadowlark, canyon wren
> and rock wren, all of whom instilled in me an intense love of
> birdsong -- surely the finest of music!
>
> another highlight was the side-trip-almost-not-taken. we went
> into the wahluke national wildlife refuge just to see what was
> there. we drove down some well-maintained roads, and some other
> roads that were not so well-maintained, and ended up on the
> peak of one of the saddle mountains. the view to the south
> was absolutely breathtaking: we could see the prairies, rivers
> and wetlands, and the hills stretching on for almost forever,
> until they were obscured by the distant smog over california.
> my partner remarked that this is probably the best make-out place
> within 100 miles.
>
> a short distance away and looking to the north, was a small canyon
> (valley?). i perched on the edge at a dizzying height and peered
> over the edge at sheer red rock cliffs, the dry riverbed, and the
> open prairie below. what a spectacle i saw! the canyon was
> bursting with birdlife at its best. there was an amorous pair of
> american kestrels defending their nesting territory from a raucous
> prairie falcon that repeatedly dive-bombed them from above. every
> time that the kestrels succeeded in chasing the falcon away, they
> would return to their roosting rock and demonstrate their
> affection for each other.
>
> four ravens were also hanging around this canyon, although i
> wasn't sure if they were looking for food or for a nest site.
> the air was alive with the clear fluted melodies of western
> meadowlarks, the descending whistles of canyon wrens, the
> repeated churrs and buzzes of rock wrens, and the silvery sounds
> of swainson's thrushes. in that single moment, i caught a brief
> glimpse of what heaven must be like.
>
> the trip was a success, despite our short time there. we drove
> 501 miles total, and after coming up with several different
> numbers for my birdlist, i enlisted the help of my computer,
> which says that we identified 68 species of birds. wow, and i
> know i could have gotten more if i'd stayed two hours longer!
>
> regards,
>
> Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
> Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
> Visit me on the web: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~nyneve/
> <><><>Graduate School: it's not just a job, it's an indenture!<><><>
>
>
>