Tweeters,

I organized a hawkwatch for the Yakima Valley Audubon Society for September
10 to Bethel Ridge which lies west of Yakima in the Cascades. The day dawned
rainy so as we drove west on Hwy. 12 towards the Cascades, I went out on the
CB (a Yakima Audubon fixture) announcing, in my opinion, it would be pretty
useless hawkwatching weather, so I was proposed "Plan B," the circuit around
Rimrock and Clear Lakes which lie east of White Pass. It turned out a good
decision as the weather never improved at ridgetop level (> 6,000') where we
were to hawkwatch, while in the valleys below, conditions were much better.

One highlights included an adult Peregrine Falcon (perhaps "tundrius" on
account of its very pale underparts, lacking much barring) perched atop a
snag besides a roosting Turkey Vulture at the east end of Rimrock Lake. It
afforded great, if somewhat distant scope views.

Also exciting were four adult-plumaged Common Terns flycatching over Clear
Lake; records of this species in the county are very few, indeed. We watched
these terns for close to an hour, never once observing one dive into the
water, but actively swooping about very gracefully for large flying insects.
Common Terns are regular in fall migration along the Columbia River in
Yakima County, but virtually unrecorded away from this area in south-central
Washington, so this observation was noteworthy.

Perhaps our most memorable views were of a male Williamson's Sapsucker
quietly drilling away on a mature Douglas Fir on the nature trail at the
Clear Lake Day Use Site, obliging us by remaining stationary on the trunk
for 30 minutes, affording us stunning views of this striking woodpecker.

Most everybody loves to watch American Dippers and this group was treated to
two birds literally at our feet working along the dock edges at the boat
launch on Clear Lake.

Species noted, Rimrock Lake (RL), and Clear Lake - (CL):

Pied -billed Grebe - CL
Great Blue Heron - RL, CL
Canada Goose - CL
Mallard - CL
American Wigeon - 2 (RL)
Ring-necked Duck - 15 (CL)
Barrow's Goldeneye - 30 (CL), all in "female" plumage
Bufflehead - 5 (CL)
Common Merganser - 25(RL), 5 (CL)
Turkey Vulture - 5 (RL)
Osprey - 2 (RL), 1 (CL)
Bald Eagle - 2 adults (RL), perhaps the sole county nesting pair as they
were at their nesting tree? No sign of young, though.
Red-tailed Hawk - 1 (RL)
Peregrine Falcon - 1 adult (RL)...wow!
Virginia Rail - 1 (RL)
Spotted Sandpiper - 2 (RL)
California Gull - 10 (RL)
Common Tern - 4 (CL), 1 (RL)
Vaux's Swift - 60 (RL)
Belted Kingfisher - 1 (RL), 1 (CL)
Williamson's Sapsucker - 1 (CL)
Hairy Woodpecker - 2 (RL)
Northern (Red-shafted ) Flicker - 2 (RL), 2 (CL)
Pileated Woodpecker - 1 (CL), heard only
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1 (CL)
Western Wood-Pewee -1 (CL)
Empidonax spp. - 1 (CL)
Cassin's Vireo - 1 in aspens (RL), singing feebly
Violet-green Swallow - 50 (CL)
Barn Swallow - 20 (CL)
Steller's Jay - 5 (RL), 3 (CL)
Clark's Nutcracker - 5 (RL), 3 (CL)
American Crow - 3 (RL)
Common Raven - 3 (CL)
Black-capped Chickadee - 2 (RL)
Mountain Chickadee - 5 (RL), 3 (CL)
Chestnut-sided Chickadee - 3 (RL)
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 5 (RL), 3 (CL)
Marsh Wren - 1 (RL)
American Dipper - 2 (CL), along the placid shores, great views!
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 10 (CL)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 (RL)
American Robin - 1 (RL)
Orange-crowned Warbler - 2 (RL), 1 (CL), dull celata race
Nashville Warbler - 1 (CL)
Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler - 10 (RL), 5 (CL)
Townsend's Warbler - 2 (RL)
MacGillivray's Warbler - 1 (RL)
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (CL)
Chipping Sparrow - 30 (RL), conspicuous by the Tieton Airstrip runway
Song Sparrow - 3 (RL), 5 (CL)
Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco - 25 (RL), 10 (CL)
Red-winged Blackbird - 30 ( RL)
Cassin's Finch - 5 (RL)
Red Crossbill - 5 overhead (RL)
Evening Grosbeak - 1 (RL)

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net