Subject: Arctic Loon at Priest Rapids Dam,YA
Date: Feb 6 19:48:47 2000
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net
Hello Tweets,
Dave Hayden, and my mother and I birded the Lower Columbia River Basin Feb.
5th-6th, mainly in Yakima,Grant, Kittitas, and Adams Cos. We started at
Wanupum State Park in Kittitas Co. on Feb.4th, where 3 female WHITE-WINGED
SCOTERS, and 7 GR.WHITE-FRONTED GEESE. At 9am we were at Priest Rapids
Wildlife Area, in Grant Co., where we accompianted by several
birders,including Bob Woodley. At 9:45am, we ALL observed the ARCTIC LOON,
after a Yakima Co. birder, found it earlier at Cox Landing, south of the
main wildlife area, accessed off of Hwy.243, and 26 SW, along the Columbia
River. We then quickly went back to Cox Landing, with NO sighting of the
loon, so we checked back at fishing access area, and carefully scoped the
Yakima Co. shoreline, and sure enough the bird was found , swimming very
close to shore, heading north. We watched the bird for 2 hours, as it
cruised the river, carefully watching for ALL the main field marks. The
loon went out of sight, after 2 hours the loon could NOT be relocated, but
we ran into Mike and MerryLynn Denny on the Priest Rapids Dam, where he had
the loon, just before we arrived there, BUT again could NOT be relocated.
Other birds in the general vicinity included:
1 RED-THROATED LOON
1 RED-NECKED GREBE
1 pair of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS
3 GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS
1 GOLDEN EAGLE
1 DUNLIN
2 SAY'S PHOEBES
6 AM.TREE SPARROWS
At 3pm we briefly birded the Othello area, where a single PRAIRIE FALCON,
was seen, at the Hwy.17, and 26 intersection, and one ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK,
near the fairgrounds. We birded until dark along Crab Creek Rd. in Grant
Co, where 11 TUNDRA SWANS were noted in the main creek basin. We slept over
night along the road, 3 miles east of Beverly(Hwy.243), in a Russian Olive
tree belt, with 4 species of owls, including 1 N.SAW-WHET OWL, 2 LONG-EARED
OWLS, and 1 SHORT-EARED OWL, and 7+ G.H.OWLS. The next morning(Feb.6th), we
birded the area that we slept, and remaining road to Hwy.243, which
produced 17 CEDAR WAXWINGS, 1 NORTHERN SHRIKE, and 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS
back to Priest Rapids, where other birders were in attendance, including
Dennis Rockwell, and Phil Bartley, and Greg Toffic, BUT the loon could NOT
be relocated in the AM, only a PACIFIC LOON, seen earlier from the wildlife
area, by Phil Bartley, then refound, a single PRAIRIE FALCON, near Desert
Aire. We headed north searching the best accessible areas along Hwy.243,
along the Columbia River, north of Mattawa, in search of the ARCTIC
LOON,only find 12+ COMMON LOONS, at various stops, and another PRAIRIE
FALCON, below Wanupum Dam. Our last stop of the trip, and the day, was made
at Waupum State Park in Kittitas County, where we refound the OLDSQUAW,
reported on the 29th of January, with both scaup species. A great trip!
Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net