Birded and explored exclusively in Pend Oreille County [described in a
tourist brochure as Washington's 'forgotten corner'] from Friday evening 6/22
thru Monday midday 6/25. Apart from a Spokane WOS Convention field trip a
few years ago and one winter venture through the area, this was my first time
to seriously visit and explore the 'forgotten corner'. Weather was fairly
decent albeit a little windy at times in exposed locations and a high
overcast kept things a bit dim and cool. Fortunately most of the at times
heavy and much needed rain fell during the night on Sunday.

I added *three new state listees* to my groveling along Washington state list
-- all of 'em shorebirds! Imagine that; a 'west sider' going to the farthest
NE corner of the state for shorebirds! The first of those was a state list
goal achieving milestone #350 -- LESSER YELLOWLEGS! Who on earth out there
has made it all the way to 350 without listing Lesser Yellowlegs at least
within the first 300 or even 200?!? Let's face it; I don't get to
'shorebird' much in Washington due to my work schedule. The other two were
Solitary Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper. Believe it or not; both
Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper were at the top of my 'hope to see'
list before I started this trip. The Semipalmated Sandpiper was a bonus.
Not bad for the early 4th quarter of June with a pleasing total of 9
shorebird species observed in Pend Oreille County alone.

Areas visited included an extensive exploration of the Pend Oreille River
valley from Newport to the Canadian border with a special focus on Calispell
Lake. Also visited and explored were the Sullivan Lake area, Bunchgrass
Meadows area, Salmo Mountain, and some other backroads.

Bunchgrass Meadows and Salmo Mountain, both offering rich potential and very
interesting in their own right were somewhat disappointing from the
standpoint of birds and I thoroughly dipped on ALL those high mountain
specialties (Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadee, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged
Crossbill) noted by Andy Stepniewski a week or two ago. No Great Gray Owls
at Bunchgrass Meadows which looks perfect for such, but there were plenty of
'great gray' mosquitoes! Don't go there without repellent!!

I was especially keen to explore the Calispell Lake area especially with
thoughts of perhaps finding some unknown outpost for Yellow Rails in
Washington. In short, Calispell Lake nor anywhere else in Pend Oreille
County seems a very likely candidate. The best hope of hopes at present for
that pipe dream remain with Conboy Lake NWR in Klickitat County.

Calispell Lake (DeLorme p105, B-6) is a very birdy area. The lake itself is
difficult to view thoroughly and it and all of the surrounding land is
privately owned. Best views of the water areas were from the west side by
scoping from the roadside through the thin veil of Ponderosa Pines. Some
exposed semi-vegetated mudflats turned up 10-15 BLACK-NECKED STILTS, 6
Greater Yellowlegs, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, and maybe 20 or more Wilson's
Phalaropes, along with Killdeer, Common Snipe, and Spotted Sandpipers. Also
scattered around the lake and marsh were 20-30 Black Terns, 5 Bald Eagles
(1a,4i), many Sora and Virginia Rails, and lots of broods of assorted
dabbling ducks. The shorebird counts were an absolute minimum as the area
offers considerable more potential if only it was better accessible or
viewable.

I was a little surprised to find Black-necked Stilts here. Should I be?
Although no young birds were detected but they may have been present, one
adult appeared to be sitting on a nest. It was the one bird that never moved
off it's haunches in a good 30 minutes of observing and was still there 4
hours later during another pass and scoping session. At least as of 1997,
the nearest confirmed Washington breeding record was in extreme eastern
Lincoln Co. (Smith, et al., 1997. "Breeding Birds of Washington State") with
the main breeding concentrations mostly centered in the central Columbia
Basin. Black-necked Stilts have wandered all over the state this year and
even up into southern British Columbia breeding in places never noted before
such as SW Washington's Ridgefield NWR. It is also a dry year throughout the
Pacific Northwest which may account for this sort of expansion.

Calispell Lake was the only county location where I found Yellow-headed
Blackbirds of which the colony there was quite large and extensive.
Bobolinks were widespread though never more than a few pair at any one
location in some of the larger hayfields throughout the area along all of the
several east-west roads through the area where habitat was suitable and along
rt.211 in the Usk-Cusik area. A few more were scattered in similar hayfield
habitat on the east side of the Pend Oreille River along Leclerc Creek Road
between Usk and Newport.

Eastern Kingbirds and Gray Catbirds seemed to be everywhere around Calispell
Lake and in higher densities than anywhere else I can think of in Washington.
A great spot for easy viewing of American Redstart and Northern Waterthrush
was on the south side of the lake, 3 miles east of rt.211 on "Westside
Calispell Road" where the road crosses Calispell Creek. Other notables
around Calispell Lake included Veery and Yellow-breasted Chat.

The epicenter for Ospreys in Washington has to be at Usk with 20 or more
active nests viewable from a single spot! The pilings in the river at Usk
with nearly each and every one crowned with an Osprey or Double-crested
Cormorant is a spectacle in it's own right. Throughout the
Usk-Cusick-Calsipell area, several of those familiar lifelike 'plastic' Great
Horned Owls were perched atop the more 'sensitive' utility poles to
discourage the Ospreys from nesting and crashing themselves and/or the
electrical grid. One thought occurs to me; why not replace those fake Great
Horned Owls with something really novel like um... Great Gray or even
Northern Hawk Owls. ....or better still, the real thing :-))

There are countless little sloughs and marshy spots along the entire length
of the Pend Oreille River in the county. Each had it's complement of
waterfowl. Especially notable were the large numbers of Wood Ducks -- too
many to count and in each many many broods of Wood Duck ducklings. I have
never seen so many Wood Ducks anywhere!

Other than Calispell Lake, one additional good shorebirding spot was located
near the Pend Oreille River at the north end of "Riverbend Loop Road" 1/4
mile east of "Leclerc Creek Road" (DeLorme p105, T59N, SE corner Sect 6).
This appears to be a fairly permanent feature in a flooded pasture that might
warrant routine checking when in the area. Birds of note here were 2 Greater
Yellowlegs, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 2-3 Wilson's
Phalaropes, 6 Black Terns, and one immature Bald Eagle. There is lots of
'shorebird potential' all along the Pend Oreille River depending on the
seasonal influence of water at the right time, whether by rains, snow melt,
or flooding.

Upland and away from the river, one of my favorite areas was along "W Branch
Leclerc Creek Road" (same as USFS rt.3503) in an area designated on the maps
as "LPOWRA" (Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Recreation Area). This appears to
be the same but far south end of the "Dry Creek Canyon" area mentioned by
Andy. The first six miles coming up from the south offered some of the best
and richest passerine birding with several American Redstarts at many stops
and Northern Waterthrushes in suitable boggy slow moving backwater spots off
the main rushing stream. A large clearing 2 miles north of the "E Branch" /
"W Branch" junction contained numerous Mountain Bluebirds and Vesper
Sparrows. A mile or so further north of there at the first small bridge, an
adult CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was found in much smaller clearing reached by
walking west for 200 yards along an overgrown access road on the south side
of the creek (DeLorme p.119, T60/61N, R44E, Sect 31/6 -- that's confusing;
it's right at the intersection of 4 section lines).

The "E Branch" / "W Branch" junction was a busy birdy spot too and contains a
fabulous home setting in a covetous microcosm of diversity with forest,
clearings, stream, marsh, two small trout ponds complete with a water wheel,
and a wealth of birding potential. Obviously a lot of work and tender loving
care has gone into developing and maintaining this homestead and grounds.
Let me know when this place is for sale :-))

The Sullivan Lake area offers a wealth of possibility with the mix of
deciduous / conifer areas along the lake and stream shores of which I wish I
had had more time to explore adequately. As it was, several more American
Redstarts and Northern Waterthrushes were found scattered around here and
Red-eyed Vireos galore. After having spent much time exploring Pend Oreille
County, next time I should be able to plan a better strategy so as to be at
some of the more tantalizing 'hot' spots during the prime early morning hours
and perhaps two or three weeks earlier. Problem is; there are just too many
places to be all at the same desired time of day that an excursion up there
is definitely no day trip especially from so far away as Western Washington!
The possibilities are infinite.

Below is a quick summary of highlight sightings and a few miscellaneous other
sightings of note. Some of these are listed because they may be of
significant interest relevant to Pend Oreille County record keeping only.

Common Loon -- 2 adults (pair) in Pend Oreille River between Metaline & Ione
6/24.

Red-necked Grebe -- 1 adult at the south end of Sullivan Lake on 6/23.

Eared Grebe -- 1 at Riverbend on 6/25.

Double-crested Cormorant -- many at Usk.

Wood Duck -- very numerous & many broods throughout Pend Oreille River area.

Common Goldeneye -- female with brood on the 'Mill Pond' below Sullivan Lake
6/24.

Osprey -- many at Usk-Cusick-Calispell Lake.

Bald Eagle -- 10 (4a, 6i) Calispell Lake and scattered along the river from
Usk to Seattle Light's "Boundary Dam" near the Canadian border. [scenic
hotspot: the incredible overlook at Boundary Dam from the east side of the
river off rt.31 a mile south of the border. This one really takes your
breath away leaving you a bit tipsy!]

BLACK-NECKED STILT -- 10-15 at Calispell Lake (possibly nesting) on 6/23.

Greater Yellowlegs -- 6 at Calispell Lake on 6/23; and 2 at Riverbend on 6/25.

Lesser Yellowlegs -- 3 at Calispell Lake on 6/23.

Solitary Sandpiper -- 2 at Riverbend on 6/25.

Semipalmated Sandpiper -- 1 at Riverbend on 6/25.

Wilson's Phalarope -- 20+ at Calispell Lake on 6/23; and 2-3 at Riverbend on
6/25.

Black Tern -- 20-30 at Calispell Lake on 6/23; and 6 at Riverbend on 6/25.

Least Flycatcher -- seems like I should have stumbled on to one or more
somewhere but didn't.

Eastern Kingbird -- common throughout Pend Oreille River valley, especially
Calispell Lake area. [I did not see a Western Kingbird at all in the county].

Mountain Bluebird -- numerous in the large clearing better described above, 2
miles north on USFS rt.3503 in LPOWRA (only sighting).

Veery -- 1 at south end of Calispell Lake on 6/23.

Gray Catbird -- common throughout the Pend Oreille River valley, especially
Calispell Lake and between Usk and Newport on the east side of the river.

Red-eyed Vireo -- common and widespread throughout riparian areas.

American Redstart -- uncommon but widespread throughout riparian and mixed or
edge riparian/conifer areas.

Northern Waterthrush -- uncommon (less common) but widespread throughout same
as American Redstart but preferring boggy slow moving water areas.

Yellow-breasted Chat -- 1 northwest of Calispell Lake at the intersection of
Pease and Danforth Roads (DeLorme p105, B-6) on 6/23; and 1 ~2 miles north of
Newport (east side of river and just barely still in Washington) on 6/25.

CLAY-COLORED SPARROW -- 1 adult in small meadow at LPOWRA on USFWS rt.3503 on
6/25 (details above in narrative).

Vesper Sparrow -- numerous in the large clearing better described above, 2
miles north on USFS rt.3503 in LPOWRA on 6/25 (only sighting but maybe I
wasn't tuned in on the song elsewhere).

Bobolink -- widespread but nowhere 'common' in hayfields throughout the
Usk-Cusick-Calispell Lake area and again in similar habitat on the east side
of the river between Usk and Newport on 6/23 and 6/25.

Yellow-headed Blackbird -- large colony at Calispell Lake on 6/23 (only
sighting).

Okay, this probably be the end of my terrestrial Washington birding
adventures for a while as summer is now officially declared 'over' and it's
time to start preparing the Bellevue homestead for winter. Maybe there will
be a pelagic bird or two of interest that is worthy of a report between now
and ...arghh, oh god!... Christmas(!) ...yeowzer! I'm moving back out to sea
soon and back to 'work' for some extensive marine mammal and seabird surveys
from zero to 300nmi off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington from
late July to mid-December. If I am to snag any more Washington shorebirds,
they will have to be 'out there' ;-))

****************************************************
Richard Rowlett
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
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