Andy Stepniewski and I traveled ssouth to bird in Benton County Sunday
morning to start our birding year off with a bang. It wasn't to be, there
anyway, as it was completely fogged in from the Tri-cities clear down to the
Walla Walla Delta. We did find a Eurasian Wigeon in the Columbia River Park
and a Thayer's Gull at the McNary NWR. We decided to go up to the south
side of Rattlesnake Mountain, going up just west of Benton City on Rothrock
Road. The area looked quite like the Waterville Plateau. We found a
Prairie Falcon, about ten Lapland Longspurs, many Horned Larks and twelve
Chukars.

On the way home for an early nap, we decided instead to hit the Toppenish
NWR and Medicine Valley, straight west of Wapato. On the refuge we found
one Loggerhead Shrike, five Greater Yellowlegs and one immature Trumpeter
Swan. There are so many duck on the refuge, mostly Mallards, that it is
hard to believe.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA

osprey at nwinfo.net