Hello Tweets,

Ken Knittle, Dan Stevens of Wenatchee, and I birded mainly counties within
the Lower Columbia Basin on October 2nd and 3rd including Benton, and
Franklin Cos., with partial birding done in Grant on the morning of the
2nd, and in Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan Cos. on the 3rd. The weather was
great with mostly sunny skies and temperatures ranging from the low
80's(high) to the high 30's(low). I owled alone on the evening of October
1st in Snohomish Co. above Skykomish in the Jack's Pass and Johnson's Ridge
areas along FR 6520 and 6550,before meeting Ken at Goldbar at 3am. I
encountered 3 species of owls during 5 hours in the field with: 3 BARRED
OWLS, 3 N.SAW-WHET OWLS, and 1 W.SCREEH OWL. We picked up Dan Stevens in
wenatchee at 5am, then proceeded east to Adams Co., where we observed 1
BELTED KINGFISHER on the Columbia NWR and a late OSPREY, which was a new
county bird for all of us, being a good bird in Adams Co. Good numbers of
Sandhill Cranes were noted further west of the refuge boundaries in Grant
Co. We stopped NW of Othello briefly as we observed a late AM.AVOCET, 4
LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, and 5 Least Sandpipers along
McManamon Rd. We headed for Benton Co., where we met Dennis Rockwell as he
was leading a local field trip on Bateman Island in Kennewick and the
Yakima River Delta. Highlights during a 5 hour visit included: 1 GREEN
HERON(in both Franklin and Benton Cos.) 1 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, 2
WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, 15 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 9 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 23
COMMON SNIPE in one flock, 1 PEREGRINE FALCON, 1 OSPREY, 58 L.B.DOWITCHERS,
2 PINE SISKINS, and 1 SWAINSON'S THRUSH. We continued with Dennis at Two
Rivers Park, SE of Kennewick, where an early AM.TREE SPARROW, a late
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, and 4 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were noted, before we
headed to Sacajawea SP in Franklin Co. in search of a possible
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER found on the 1st by Mike and MerryLynn Denny,
which Dennis informed us about. We relocated the sapsucker, and observed it
for about 45 minutes, as it began to get dark quickly. We decide upon our
views and future refreces that the bird was a Y.B.SAPSUCKER, and NOT a
similiar RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. The bird was in basic molt, being being quite
ratty in appearance, as we observed it "flycatching" or "hawking" for
insects with Y.R.Warblers high in Cottonwood trees during the entire
observation, except for a few occasions where the bird came low into
willows at rather close range. A late C.NIGHTHAWK, and a WILSON'S WARBLER
in the low,dense brush at the north end of the park as I watched the
sapsucker was also present outside the park, as we left, heading straight
to Dan's house. The next day we birded 2 hours at Confluence SP in
Wenatchee, partrially with Dan with the best highlight being a RUSTY
BLACKBIRD in a small flock of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS along the edge of the
Columbia River. Other notable species during our visit included: 1
LONG-EARED OWL, 1 BARN OWL, 2 HORNED GREBES, 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, 1 HERMIT
THRUSH, 75 migrating V.G.SWALLOWS, 30 O.C.WARBLERS, 1 WINTER WREN, and 3
AM.PIPITS. After birding the park, Ken and I headed N to Okanogan Co. along
the Chelan Co. side of the Columbia River, as noted a pair of GOLDEN EAGLES
near Entiat, before heading to Cameron Lake Rd, specifically Duley Lake.
Along the dirt road south of the lake, a single BREWER'S SPARROW was
observed in a loose Savannah Sparrow flock. The lake itself had a single
SURF SCOTER, both new for us in Okanogan Co., as well as other notables
including: 1 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, 1 L.B.DOWITCHER, 1 Gr.Yellowlegs, 3
CANVASBACKS, several EARED GREBES, BUFFLEHEADS, and LESSER SCAUPS,
relatively good numbers of AM.PIPITS and Horned Larks, and a lone VESPER
SPARROW. We briefly stopped by Atkins Lake in Douglas Co, with only a
single PECTORAL SANDPIPER and 5 Sandhill Cranes being noted, with good
numbers of cranes found along SR 17, east of Mansfield, and a our only
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, being a migrant along a small oasis along Hwy.2,
uphill from Banks Lake. The trip was a very rewarding occasion, with mainly
unexpected species found and observed, with also favoring weather.

Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net