Hello Tweets,

My mother and I enjoyed a rewarding 3 day trip July 3rd-July 5th along with additional birding made in other nearby regions with a total of 166 species and were fortunate to have very good weather,being very hot thought our entire trip. We encountered many highlights to be listed below,as well as visited new personal birding areas and observed a decline in waterfowl numbers at several key locations compared to past years in Okanogan County. Most notable observations that we encountered were returning fall migrant shorebirds that were observed from several locations that we visited including the Molson-Havillah area,Cameron Lake Rd.,Cassimer Bar(Okanogan River mouth),St.Andrews area of Douglas County,and at Walla Walla Point Park/Confluence State Park in Chelan Co.,which all made our trip even more worthwhile. Overall we encountered a great diversity of species and we excited to have such a great list of specious for early July in eastern WA. Our main route consisted of birding made in 4 counties,beginning on the 3rd of July birding our way to the Molson/Chesaw/Havillah area from Tacoma,then on the 4th of July birding from the Havillah area to the Brewster area(Fort Okanogan)with a visit made along Cameron Lake Rd. On the 5th of July we worked our way home from the Brewster area into Douglas County to the St.Andrews area for shorebirds with a few additional areas that were checked,then continuing along Hwy.2 to Wenatchee with our final stop of the trip made at Walla Walla Point Park/Confluence S.P.

Our main highlights of the trip included the following:

Horned Grebe
1 in breeding plumage continuing at Sidley Lake at Molson,Okanogan Co.(OK)on the 3rd of July(previously reported by Tom Aversa in late June)

Greater Scaup
1 pair at Fields Lake,OK on the 3rd of July(accessed from Tonasket-Havillah Rd.)
1 female along the Columbia River below the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center,OK on the 4th of July

Surf Scoter
1 female along the Columbia River below the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center,OK on the 4th of July

White-winged Scoter
1 along the Columbia River below the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center,OK on the 4th of July

Common Goldeneye
1 female with 5 young at Cook Lake along Cameron Lake Rd.,OK on the 4th of July

Bufflehead
1 female with 5 young at Molson Lake,OK on the 3rd of July(previously reported by Tom Aversa in late June)
2 females along the Columbia River below the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center,OK on the 4th of July

Sandhill Crane
2 along Cameron Lake Rd.,OK on the 4th of July

Solitary Sandpiper
1 along Kipling Rd.,OK on the 3rd of July(at the same location than the Alder Flycatcher was observed in mid June-late June 2002)

Semipalmated Sandpiper
1 along Rd. N NE(accessed from 6 NE west of St.Andrews in Douglas Co.)on the 5th of July
1 at Stallard Lake north of St.Andrews,Douglas Co.(DO)on the 5th of July(accessed with permission)
1 at Walla Walla Point Park/Confluence S.P.,Chelan Co.(CH)on the 5th of July

Short-billed Dowitcher
1 along Rd. N NE,DO on the 5th of July(heard and seen well in close association with 8 nearby Long-billed Dowitchers)

Long-eared Owl
4 along Woods Rd.(Heritage Rd.),DO on the 5th of July

Least Flycatcher
1 actively singing bird observed near the mouth of the Okanogan River,OK on the 4th of July
2 actively singing birds on Bridgeport Bar,DO(accessed from Grange Rd.)on the 5th of July

Ash-throated Flycatcher
1 actively calling bird observed along Hwy.12 at MP 141.6,DO(east of Orondo and previously reported by Dave Beaudette on the 16th of June)

Clay-colored Sparrow
1 actively singing bird observed along Cameron Lake Rd.


Due to very hot temperatures during our entire trip that reached 100 degrees+ some areas were slower than others birding wise,as we combined the trip searching for dragonflies with 13 species noted and we greatly enjoyed visiting the Chief Joseph Dam Rest Area on the late afternoon of the 4th and having a cool rest after an exhausting day of birding. Dragonflies seemed more difficult at some locations that we visited due to several visible predators such as various swallow species,Western and Eastern Kingbirds,Cedar Waxwings, and Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds and several locations hosted unique dragonfly species that were not encountered at other locations.This location is a day use only area,being located immediately south of Hwy.17 after crossing the Columbia River into Okanogan Co.at Bridgeport and is well managed and offers newly built restrooms,well manicured lawn area,picnic area with several aluminum picnic tables and an interesting fish pond with a small waterfall that greatly accents the rest area along with offering great views of Chief Joseph Dam and the nearby hillsides of the surrounding area. Of additional special note we encountered our only Swainson's Hawks of the trip in the Havillah/Molson/Chesaw area of Okanogan Co. with up to 12 observed on the 3rd of July in areas that we have encountered this local nesting species in past years.A list of our notable bird highlights encountered during our excursion at selected locations and dates include the following:

***July 3rd,2003***


I-90 at MP 71 at Easton,Kittitas Co.(KT)

1 Band-tailed Pigeon

Liberty,KT

1 Black-chinned Hummingbird
good numbers of Rufous Hummingbirds
4 Veeries
9+ Purple Finches

Hwy.2 at MP 141.6,DO

1 Black-chinned Hummingbird
3 Rufous Hummingbirds
1 Lewis' Woodpecker
1 Ash-throated Flycatcher
5 Lazuli Buntings

Tonasket-Havillah Rd.,OK(east of Tonasket)

1 Swainson's Hawk
2 Lewis' Woodpeckers
5 Grasshopper Sparrows
20+ Bobolinks

Havillah area,OK(along Tonasket-Havillah Rd.)

4 Swainson's Hawks

Muskrat Lake,OK(along Kipling Rd.)

3 Red-necked Grebes
38 Eared Grebes
2 Swainson's Hawks
4 Greater Yellowlegs
2 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Least Sandpiper
8 Black Terns

Fields Lake,OK(along Fields Rd.)

1 pair of Greater Scaup
1 Swainson's Hawk
2 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Wilson's Phalarope
5 Black Terns

Mary Ann Creek Rd.,OK

1 singing Northern Waterthrush

Oroville-Toroda Creek Rd.,OK(south of Molson)

3 Swainson's Hawk

Molson/Sidley Lakes,OK(Molson)

1 Common Loon
1 Horned Grebe
4 Red-necked Grebes
3 families of Canvasback(with 5 young noted with each female)
1 female Bufflehead(with 5 young)
1 Bald Eagle
1 Greater Yellowlegs
3 Least Sandpipers

Kipling Rd.,OK

1 Swainson's Hawk
1 Solitary Sandpiper
1 singing Northern Waternthrush

Havillah area,OK

1 Williamson's Sapsucker


***July 4th,2003***

Havillah area,OK

1 Swainson's Hawk
2 Northern Three-toed Woodpeckers

Kipling Rd.,OK

2 Swainson's Hawk
2 Veeries
5 singing Northern Waterthrush

Cameron Lake Rd.,OK(including Duley Lake)

42 Eared Grebes
1 female Common Goldeneye(with 5 young)
1 adult Cooper's Hawk
2 Sandhill Cranes
5 Am.Avocets(including 1 adult with 1 young at Duley Lake)
1 Greater Yellowlegs
3 Wilson's Phalaropes
2 Gray Flycatchers
3 Sage Thrashers
14+ Lazuli Buntings
1 singing Clay-colored Sparrow(with nearby Brewer's Sparrows for comparison)

Fort Okanogan,OK(Okanogan River mouth and Cassimer Bar)

8 Western Grebes
16 Am.White Pelicans
18 Double-crested Cormorants
1 female Greater Scaup
1 female Surf Scoter
1 female White-winged Scoter
2 female Buffleheads
15 Caspian Terns
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Gray Catbird


***July 5th,2003***

Cassimer Bar at Fort Okanogan,OK

2 Common Loons
8 Western Grebes
23 Am.White Pelicans
42 Double-crested Cormorants
8 Western Sandpipers
25 Least Sandpipers
2 Long-billed Dowitchers
1 Glaucous-winged Gull
5 Black Swifts

Bridgeport Bar,DO

2 Least Flycatchers
15 Gray Catbirds
5 Lazuli Buntings

Hwy.17 between MP 125 and 126,DO

1 Sora
3 Sage Thrashers
1 Common Yellowthroat
4 Lark Sparrows

Woods Rd.,DO

4 Long-eared Owls

Hwy.17,DO(south of Sims Corner)

28 White-throated Swifts


Rd. N NE,DO(west of St.Andrews)

2 Sora
10 Black-necked Stilts
1 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Semipalamted Sandpiper(photographed)
18 Least Sandpiper
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
8 Long-billed Dowitchers
2 Wilson's Snipe
8 Wilson's Phalaropes

Stallard Lake,DO

68 Am.Avocets
15 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Semipalmated Sandpiper
3 Western Sandpipers

Haynes Lake,DO(west of Stallard Lake)

1 Am.Avocet
5 Lesser Yellowlegs

Moses Coulee,DO

1 Sage Sparrow

Walla Walla Point Park/Confluence S.P.,CH

1 Semipalmated Sandpiper
2 Western Sandpipers
13 Least Sandpipers
14 Caspian Terns


Dragonfly species encountered during our trip,mainly from Okanogan and Douglas Cos. include the following:

Northern Bluet
Alkali Bluet
Pacific Forktail
California Darner
Blue-eyed Darner
Common Green Darner
Dot-tailed Whiteface
Black Saddlebag
Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Common Whitetail
Blue Dasher
Cherry-faced Meadowhawk


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net









































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