Tweeters,

Ellen and I birded the Waterville Plateau 2 December. The weather was
"fine," snowcover was slight (2-3 inches), and roads were all open.
"Northern" birds seemed absent, except for a few Rough-legged Hawks (~5). We
failed to see any "sought-after" species such as Gyrfalcon, Bohemian
Waxwing, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting or Common Redpoll, though we were on
the lookout for these all day.We noted but one Northern shrike.

Waterfowl were conspicuous at lakes on the plateau, especially Tundra Swans.

At the north end of Jameson Lake, reached from Mansfield, we noted ~ 100
Gray-crowned Rosy Finches swirling about. The adjacent cliffs of Moses
Coulee and extensive areas of open fields (with cattle and horses) would
seem to make this a good spot to find this species.

Redpolls were especially sought in several areas where Water Birches are
abundant. At West Foster Creek, where a "dusting" of seeds from these trees
wason the snow and ground, indicated a good seed crop, we neither saw nor
heard any of these visitors. Overhead here, we were impressed when an
immature Golden Eagle briefly attempted to drive a dark morph Red-tail away.

Later, in Central Ferry Canyon, we again noted abundant birch seed on the
snow, but no sign of redpolls (or goldfinches or siskins, for that matter).
Hiking here, always a lovely experience, Townsend's Solitaires and Cedar
Waxwings were noted devouring the abundant rose hips. There, we chanced upon
a Rough-legged Hawk, feasting on a cottontail rabbit, which we surmise was
carrion. We left the scene as it became clear the hawk was lingering nearby,
waiting to finish its meal.

The Bridgeport Bar area, especially along SR-173 southeast of Brewster, was
the center of bird activity on this trip. Four or five packed aggregations
of waterbirds, totalling ~ 20,000 birds were noted just offshore. I
initially passed them off as coots. Fortunately, we stopped to check them
out and found that, while American Coots comprised perhaps 60% of the total
bird count, there were thousands of waterfowl, including Mallard (1000),
Gadwall (a few), American Wigeon (1000), Canvasback (500), Redhead (1000),
Ring-necked Duck (100), Greater Scaup (200), Lesser Scaup (300), Common
Goldeneye (50), Bufflehead (50), and Ruddy Duck (200). Many of the
coots,wigeon and gadwall appeared to be grazing on milfoil near the waters
surface. Several Bald Egles were nearby as were several Herring and
Glaucous-winged Gulls. A couple Pied-billed Grebes and Common Loons
completed the scene.

If I was to stick my neck out and assess the winter thus far in eastern
Washington, I'd say conditions to the north in British Columbia might
continue to be mild, with freeze-up perhaps just now occurring. Thus,
northern species may not have been prompted to head south, as yet.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net

Andy stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net