Subject: WOS TRIP AND A 4-BUTEO DAY IN YAKIMA COUNTY
Date: May 2 16:10:10 1999
From: Andy Stepniewski - steppie at wolfenet.com


Tweeters,

A keen group of nine Washington Ornithological Society members and myself
met at 6 am at I-82s Exit 26 Shell station and convenience store north of
Selah for the scheduled fieldtrip. This WOS trips objective was to bird the
edges of the Columbia Basin and lower east slopes of the Cascades.

SHRUB-STEPPE NORTH OF SELAH. We began by stopping off I-82 several miles
north of the Redman Bridge over Selah Canyon. Here, a Sage Thrasher sang
its beautiful warble persistently all the while we were there and perched
close for great views. Sage Sparrows provided less obliging views, but much
better than Brewer?s and Vesper Sparrows which were lurking in the sage and
only heard. Nearby, at the Selah Canyon Rest stop overlook, fine views of a
perched Prairie Falcon and dashing White-throated Swifts were enjoyed.

Crossing the Yakima River in Selah, the stop for the usual swirling clouds
of swallows (usually five species can be noted here in spring) revealed
few birds. Of note, not a single Bank Swallow, which nest by the hundreds
along the riverside banks here, were seen. This was my first clue today
that spring migration this year was tardy.

YAKIMA CANYON. Next were several stops in the southern Yakima Canyon. Adult
Golden Eagles flying about their nest high above the river the on the
towering lichen-encrusted basalt cliffs again afforded wonderful views
through our many scopes (my gosh, almost everyone had a scope!). Here we
also had good looks at Chukar, an often elusive species. A nest building
Western Kingbird was busy attaching material to a insulator atop a power
pole (are insulators providing heated quarters for kingbirds all across
western North America; this is such a common nest site?).

WENAS VALLEY. In the lower Wenas Valley, just north of Selah, a pair of
Swainson?s Hawks soaring, kiting and perching over the irrigated fields was
a life bird for some. Again, great views were had of this long distance
migrant, which had undoubtedly only just returned from its winter quarters
in South America.

HARDY CANYON. Hardy Canyon in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area has lush riparian
zone woodlands, wetlands, and fields; these usually provide great birding
in spring. It was pretty obvious, though, that the timing of our visit was
a tad on the early side. There were a handful of migrants about: Tree
Swallows and Western Bluebirds were at their nest boxes and sparrows such
as Golden-crowns and White-crowns flitted about the dense brush. However,
we didn?t see a single other Neotropical migrant such as flycatcher, wren,
thrush, vireo, warbler, tanager, or oriole. I was really surprised by the
near total absence of migrants. Drumming but not seen Ruffed Grouse were
heard here, partial compensation for the dearth of migrants.

PONDEROSA PINE ZONE IN THE WENAS. After Hardy Canyon?s unusually dull
showing, I feared another slow period in the Wenas pine forests and
streamside groves. In our jaunt through the open Ponderosa pine stands and
streamside vegetation along Maloy Road, this was initially true. By and by,
good views of a loose group of Townsend?s Solitaires (uttering their mellow
, somewhat owl-like tooting call) raised our hopes. Then, I heard the
chatter of a White-headed Woodpecker, which shortly provided superb scope
views atop a snag, while its mate called a short distance away. Pygmy
Nuthatches were also found here high in the pines and then low in a
roadside snag riddled with holes, their nest site. One lone Nashville and
several Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers, and singing Cassin?s Finches
indicated a few migrants were filtering in. Denny Granstrand located a
silent Gray Flycatcher perched low in the very open pine groves, one of
the Wenas regions ?specialties.?

In the Wenas Campground area, a walk onto the Ceanothus-mantled slopes to
the south found the currant bushes with lots of bloom, attracting
hummingbirds. We had good views of a male Rufous, but had to be content
with a ?heard? Calliope. These birds were not displaying yet, so were
tough to spot as they slipped about the dense mass of flowers on the
currants. The other usual summer residents of these brushlands such as
Dusky Flycatcher, Nashville Warbler, and Fox Sparrow did not seem to be
around, another indication migration was late this year. Another ?chicken?
provided the bonus again, however; we heard the distant muffled hoots of
Blue Grouse from high on the mountainside to the south.

Beause we hadn?t encountered more than a handful of passerine migrants so
far on our trip, it was becoming clear my original plan to ascend higher
into forested zones of the Cascades after the Wenas might not be a good
one. Also, the weather, which had been fine, was steadily turning worse.
Plus, there were near-constant mutterings from a majority of the group for
Ferruginous Hawk. Denny and I decided we were risking running out of
daylight if we were to bird the mountains plus try and get the hawk. So, we
left the Wenas heading east into the Columbia Basin, instead of west into
the Cascades (which were now draped in a ominous and dense gray and
grim-appearing cloud - sound familiar to Westsiders?).

TOPPENISH NWR. Birds were everywhere at Toppenish NWR. Old Goldendale Road
just west of refuge headquarters, Pumphouse Road, and Lateral C were all
particularly birdy. Some of the striking birds seen or heard in this area
included: Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Sora, Black-necked
Stilt, American Avocet, both yellowlegs, Long-billed Curlew, Dunlin, Marsh
Wren, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-headed Blackbird.

FERRUGINOUS HAWK. North of Sunnyside off State Rt. 241, we were treated to
distant but adequate views of the rare (~ 40-50 pairs active in Washington)
Ferruginous Hawk, both kiting in the stiff winds and huddled close on its
impressive stick nest atop a coulee edge. Horned Larks on the road were
also memorable here, always a striking bird.

MOXEE VALLEY. Returning to Yakima by way of the Highway 24, our last
birding for the day included several stops along the highway between
mileposts 18 and 28. Short-eared Owls were one highlight; we saw at least
four of these impressive owls flapping and sailing high and low over the
grasslands in the fading light of early evening. The other notable sighting
was of a late (usually having departed north for their arctic breeding
grounds a few weeks earlier) Rough-legged Hawk hovering and kiting in the
strong westerlies.

A four Buteo day (Swainson?s, Red-tailed, Ferruginous and Rough-legged
Hawks), my first ever for Washington!

A last quick stop at pine groves east of Moxee for fleeting views of
Long-eared Owls and an attempt for Gray Partridge which would have been
?chicken? # 5, but the partridge were not obliging.

We ended the day about 8:30 pm with about 105 species, a good effort!

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA