Hi Everyone--

I went to Klickitat County today to get out of the rain (had wind instead), and saw a few interesting birds. I finally figured out where the Lyle Acorn Woodpecker tree is (thanks, Glenn and Mary Ann!), and after a wait of not quite an hour, one bird landed on it. The wind was too fierce to see details that would permit sexing, but it stayed for several minutes, then blew away to the east. Uphill on Balch Road (on the dirt road that is now a dead end), 2 Lesser Goldfinches fed in the middle of the road and in the weeds on the west side. The pond on Balch Road had 4 Wood Ducks in it, along with Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, and a coot. At Bingen Point, an adult Herring Gull and an adult Glaucous-winged Gull were on the log pile, a Canvasback was in the pond, and among the sparrow flock (Golden Crowned, and oriantha and gambellii White-crowned) at the old truck scale was a bright Orange-crowned Warbler. A woman there told me that people are being discouraged from driving on the road that goes south from the lumber mill and skirts the west and south sides of Bingen Pond, and she sounded pretty defiant about driving on it. There are no signs that would indicate any restrictions on access, but I noticed a large tire and some logs at the southeast corner blocking the road to the south. Drive another 50 feet east, and there's a wide opening in the bushes that any car with more ground clearance than a Masaratti can traverse easily. Does anyone know if circumnavigating Bingen Pond has become illegal?

Mark Miller
Vancouver, WA
snowyowl98683 at msn.com