Dear Tweeters,

This past Wednesday and Thursday, May 12-13, Steve Gerstle and I joined
Brenda Senturia in an excursion she organized to the northeast corner of
Kittitas County, in the Colockum WRA. Although migration is late this
year, the birds are finally returning.

This is a spectacular area rising westward from sheer basalt cliffs along
the Columbia (elev. 800+ feet) to over 6000 feet in about 12 miles. Some
cattle are run in parts of it, and at least one large area of tableland is
plowed and planted to winter wheat, but most of what we visited (T20N
R21-22E) is relatively untouched, with large stretches of pristine native
grasslands. Tekison and Tarpiscan Creeks and their tributaries have cut
spectacular canyons and gulches through the basalt, forming sometimes
rather extensive riparian corridors. Ridgetops are bald. Higher up the
drainages Ponderosa pine begins to appear, with extensive tracts of mixed
coniferous forest above 3000 feet. In other words, this small area
contains quite a variety of habitats, and consequently a diverse avifauna.

Here are a few of the highlights.

AMERICAN KESTRELS and WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS are among the most common and
widespread birds of canyons and rimrock. This place is CHUKAR heaven.
They were everywhere, calling and generally scrambling around, sometimes
right in front of us. CALIFORNIA QUAIL is also fairly common. Brenda
found GRAY PARTRIDGE in one spot on a first visit a couple of weeks ago.
We also found, somewhat to our surprise, two RUFFED GROUSE drumming in one
valley; we were not aware that this species inhabited the Columbia slope
of the county. The WRA manager reports that the occasional SAGE GROUSE is
still seen in the area.

Other widespread species are LEWIS'S WOODPECKER and NORTHERN FLICKER (the
first being the more numerous), COMMON RAVEN, SPOTTED TOWHEE,and ROCK WREN
(although quiet and hard to find), and in the grasslands, WESTERN
MEADOWLARK, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE (low numbers) and VESPER SPARROW. AMERICAN
CROWS have moved up the riparian corridors from the Columbia, though not
above 2000 feet.

Many migrants were back and singing on territory. We caught others in the
act of returning. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS foraged in small groups in brushy
vegetation in the gullies, out in the open sagebrush, and in the
higher-elevation forests. WESTERN TANAGERS moved up the canyons
purposefully, singly and in little groups. We heard one male singing.
WESTERN KINGBIRDS had formed pairs and seemed to be staking out their
nesting sites. The woods just above 3000 feet were filled with the songs
of TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES; more solitaires worked their way up to the
canyon heads. LAZULI BUNTINGS sang near open streamsides and on brushy
slopes. We heard, and saw, a few NASHVILLE WARBLERS in similar places. On
the first day we found no BULLOCK'S ORIOLES at all, but on the next morning
we found three males, two of them flying upslope along streams, and the
third singing in a lush riparian setting. The first DUSKY FLYCATCHERS have
made it up the canyons to the forest's edge. In the woods we heard one
CASSIN'S VIREO singing.

Not in evidence yet: VEERY, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, EASTERN KINGBIRD,
MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (they have
nested here in the past), BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, COMMON POORWILL, and
WARBLING VIREO. Steve heard the only WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, a bird that
should soon be abundant. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS of northern populations
are still passing through, along with good numbers of GOLDEN-CROWNED
SPARROWS. Brenda found one FOX SPARROW of the race that breeds in the
Cascades.

A two-hour visit to West Bar (across the Columbia from Crescent Bar in
Grant County) brought a new set of birds. Six species of swallows foraged
together in a cove which also sheltered two HORNED GREBES in spectacular
breeding plumage. Just off the mouth of the cove, in the river, we watched
a RED-THROATED LOON in the scope; this species is quite unusual for the
location. A small flock of AMERICAN PIPITS flew about, calling, and
foraged on the sandy shore. A couple of dozen CASPIAN TERNS loafed on a
sandspit, along with a COMMON MERGANSER. One LONG-BILLED CURLEW rose from
the grassy plain, flew a hundred yards or two while calling loudly, and
dropped to the ground again.

That's not everything, but enough to convey the flavor of the outing. What
a splendid corner of our state!

Hal Opperman
Medina, Washington
halop at accessone.com