Hi Everyone--

Marcia Marvin and I did some exploring the past few days in a route that
followed the Columbia River for over half its US length. From Portland, we
drove east to Umatilla, entering Washington at Wallula Bend late on Sunday
2/23. We checked the gull flock at the Wallula paper mill, which included
Ring-billed, California, Herring, and a GLAUCOUS-WINGED, and spent the night
in Othello. On Monday 2/24, we drove west from Othello to Wanapum Dam, and
found the YELLOW-BILLED LOON close to the PT boat at the east end of the
Visitor Center parking lot. A COMMON LOON was out some distance toward the
Kittitas County side. From Wanapum Dam, we drove northeast, going though
Ephrata and Soap Lake, stopping at various points on Banks Lake. We found a
group of 6 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS at the south end of Banks Lake, and an
adult THAYER'S GULL (it had pale eyes, but a short, thin bill with no
gonydeal angle, and limited black on the wingtips) with the Herring Gulls at
the north end in Electric City. From Grand Coulee, we drove west into
Mansfield, then north on Bridgeport Hill Road, where we looked
unsuccessfully for grouse at dusk. From here, we continued north to
Bridgeport, and stayed the night in Brewster. On Tuesday 2/25, we briefly
checked the Columbia River at Brewster (5 COMMON LOONS), then returned to
Bridgeport, where we found the BLUE JAY vocalizing in a conifer two blocks
east of Marina Park. The jay gave creditable imitations of Red-tailed Hawk
and Bald Eagle. From Bridgeport, we returned to Foster Creek, this time
finding a NORTHERN SHRIKE, but still no grouse, and went east and south on
Mansfield Road, where we found a flock of larks containing at least 100 SNOW
BUNTINGS and 5 LAPLAND LONGSPURS. One of the Snow Buntings was a male in
full alternate plumage (alas, we saw it only in flight). We spent the rest
of the day driving back roads between Mansfield and Atkins Lake, reaching
Jameson Lake in late afternoon. A pair of BARROW'S GOLDENEYES were on the
lake, and we watched a PRAIRIE FALCON eat a duck on the cliffs as we left.
We drove south through Moses Coulee to Ephrata at dusk, and lucked into 2
SHARP-TAILED GROUSE and 2 GRAY PARTRIDGES flying to roost along Sagebrush
Flat Road (this is northernmost Grant County). We spent the night in
Ephrata. On Wednesday 2/26, hoping to find more grouse, we drove back up
Sagebrush Flat Road before dawn to a grove of Water Birches in a stream bed
north of Road J. A pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS were there, and as I walked
along the stream bed, 6 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE flew up and over the ridge to
the south. We also stopped on Johnson Road, where we found a singing SAGE
SPARROW, and headed for home on Baird Springs Road, where we found an
AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and another singing SAGE SPARROW. We stopped for lunch
at Wanapum Dam and saw the YELLOW-BILLED LOON again, but this time it was in
bad light on the far shore. We also saw 3 BARROW'S GOLDENEYES, which we
hadn't seen earlier. After lunch we continued south, stopping at Toppenish
NWR (just south of Toppenish on US 97) to stretch our legs (we heard a Marsh
Wren from the observation deck), arriving home Wednesday night. We learned a
lot about geology as well as birds, and had a great time.

Mark Miller
Vancouver, WA
snowyowl98683 at comcast.net








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