Hi Tweeters,

This afternoon I toured the Toppenish NWR to get my year list off to a good
start. I managed to avoid the starlings in Yakima and got American Crow for
my first bird of the year.

The wildlife refuge is packed with ducks, a vast majority of which are
Mallards. Gadwalls and Northern Pintails were also in good numbers. In just
a couple of hours I must have seen 10,000 ducks! I don't think I have seen
so many ducks spread so widely on the refuge.

The highlights of the afternoon were: three Eurasian Wigeons with 300 or so
American Wigeons, one adult Bald Eagle and two Prairie Falcons. American
Kestrels were everywhere along with many Red-tailed Hawk including one Harlan's.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA

osprey at nwinfo.net