Greetings Tweeters -
I took advantage of the long weekend to get out and explore some
places on the east edge of the state. Great trip, though I
definitely relied on caffeine to get me through work today. Apologies
for the length, but I've tried to keep the species in CAPS if you
want to skip the text and get to the birds.

I left Thursday from Seattle in the evening, and was surprised to
find traffic pretty decent for a holiday weekend. After ~6 hours, I
chose a spot in the Umatilla NF and set up the tent for the night.

FRIDAY JULY 4: ASOTIN CO
Dawn and dawn chorus work me a bit before 5 and I spent the first
couple hours just wandering the area near where I'd slept -- The
highlights for me were good looks at NASHVILLE WARBLERS and HERMIT
THRUSH, and a WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER pretty much right outside the
tent.

Moving on, I followed the great directions, Mike Denny had supplied
for getting to the Green-tailed Towhee site in Asotin CO, along FR43
in the Umatilla NF [Delorme, p43 ~C.5 x 5.4]. (If anyone is heading
there, I'd be happy to pass along more specific directions) As
mentioned by Mike Denny, the descent off the road is pretty
treacherous -- I slipped & slid on the loose rock many times and was
glad I wasn't feeling any time pressure so that I could stop and rest
whenever I wanted to. While waiting and listening for the Towhee,
got a glimpse of 'the other side' -- A BLUE GROUSE flushed me! I was
relaxing on a rock when up flew this male Blue Grouse, not 10 feet
from me [in the draw] -- I sputtered and stumbled to get my bins on
him while standing and ended up pretty much just falling over as he
ticked me off his mammal list and moved on into some underbrush. Also
in this area, while waiting, were several MACGILLIVREY'S WARBLERS, a
couple GRAY FLYCATCHERS, one RUFOUS HUMMER, and many SPOTTED
TOWHEES. Oh, and another WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, up at the roadside,
almost directly across from the 4-rock cairn left to mark the GTTO
spot.

I waited a long time before locating the GREEN-TAILED TOWHEEs - They
were right where reported, about 175 ft down the slope in the woody
area, but each time I would follow their song and try to catch a
glimpse they'd either fall silent or wander off elsewhere. Finally,
after a couple hours of sitting & starting to wonder if maybe I was
mistaking some other bird's song for the GTTO, a beautiful adult
popped up and let me observe for a good couple of minutes. I never
saw them, but I also heard this GTTO communicating with a couple of
others -- possibly juvs. They called pretty actively to the visible
adult, but I never saw more than the one.

In the afternoon, I headed to a couple other spots in Asotin Co.
First, along Asotin Ck. on the way out of the Umatilla NF, I had a
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, 2 RED-EYED VIREOS, WARBLING VIREO, BULLOCKS
ORIOLE and assorted others. The eastern portion of Chief Timothy
park, along the Snake River was very active w/ birds -- Many GRAY
CATBIRDS loudly meow'd, occasionally sang , and often made themselves
very visible. Walking west along the path a little ways back from the
river, eventually you arrive at a grove of trees with 5 or more GBH
nests up top. The young GBH were ranging in size from mini-adult
versions [still looking like their legs were a bit much for them, and
occasionally flapping their wings], to little puffballs. Next to them
sat several DC CORMORANTS. As I looked further down through the
layers of this little grove, I was pretty impressed with just how
much was present: NASHVILLE WARBLERS, YRWARBLERS, MOURNING DOVES,
BULL ORIOLES, GOLDFINCH & HOUSE FINCH, and down on the ground floor,
CALIFORNIA QUAIL. A LAZULI BUNTING popped up as I was getting ready
to leave

Saturday July 5: TURNBULL NWR:
I spent Saturday at Turnbull, giving it a more thorough look than I
have on previous visits. It was a beautiful day, hot by afternon,
but not as hot as I expected. My biggest miss of the day was Eared
Grebe -- I believe they nest there, but I sure couldn't find any.
There was plenty else to keep me entertained though. Coot-lets were
most prominent, in all stages of plumage variation -- Male RUDDY
DUCKS were still slapping their bright blue bills on the water, but
usually it was towards an entire family, not a single female. BWTEAL,
MALLARDS, GADWALL & PBGREBES all swam around w/ their broods. I saw
few RING-NECKED DUCKS, and only one CANVASBACK family throughout the
day. No Redheads either, come to think of it...A few BLACK TERNS flew
by periodically, but they seemed to be concentrated on Cheever Lake
the relatively inaccessible lake furthest south. Also visible in the
distance on Cheever Lake were 2 AM.WHITE PELICANS. and DC CORMORANTS.
PYGMY, RED-BREASTED & WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES were relatively
common as were EASTERN KINGBIRDS [though only one pair of W.KINGBIRDS
came through my sights]. I saw one HAIRY WOODPECKER, several
RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS [beside the pond near the HQ], and many many
FLICKERS, including at least one w/ lots of 'yellow-shafted' in it. A
SWAINSON'S HAWK joined an OSPREY & several RED-TAILED HAWKS overhead
for a bit near 30-acre lake. As the afternoon wore on, I staked out
a corner where I swear I was catching glimpses of grasshopper
sparrows - The glimpses seemed right, but I never got a good enough
look to be sure. If anyone is there, check out the southeast corner
of the Pine Lake loop trail and let me know if you find any. While
sitting there, I did have good looks at a BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD
and a GRAY CATBIRD.

I really didn't have a plan for Sunday, but in the end I decided to
move on north and try somewhere new. Seeing Little Pend Oreille NWR
on the map, I headed towards it, figuring I could camp nearby & check
it out Sunday. Little did I realize that LPO NWR is big enough that
it allows free camping at designated sites throughout! As an added
bonus, walking along the roads of the NWR is allowed too -- free
camping & walking allowed ; now that's my sort of NWR.

Sunday July 6: Little Pend Oreille NWR
I woke up again to dawn chorus around 5:00, and began a partial day
of birding before the unexciting prospect of getting back home
required attention. Given that I had no notes or real plan of attack,
and given that LPO NWR has much more accessible land than most other
NWRs I've visited, I was pretty pleased with the fortune I had. I had
camped in the Bear Creek Campground [only one there on July 4 weekend
- gotta love it], and nearby in the morning I had many expected
species: HERMIT & VARIED THRUSH, RB & WB NUTHATCHES, TOWNSEND'S & YR
WARBLERS, W.TANAGER & others. First real highlight of the day was
flushing up a covey of probable SPRUCE GROUSE -- there were probably
10 fluttering about. I got glimpses of several, but only one decent
look at a female that stayed under a branch until I almost
accidentally stepped on it. Unfortunately, my snap skills at
distinguishing grouse isn't all that great -- judging from the dense
coniferous habitat, and the large # together [Birdweb mentions Blue
Grouse don't generally keep such large covey's together], I'm
inclined to feel pretty good about this ID, but I'd love any input.

Down the road, just randomly looking & listening for something to
stop for, I lucked upon my best find of the day: BLACK-BACKED
WOODPECKERS. A pair was very approachable, right along the roadside,
seemingly unconcerned at my presence. This was a nice change from the
Nile Rd. BBWOs, who made me feel a little bad for getting too close
to the nest. This pair [and I thought I heard others nearby though no
more than 2 were visible at any one time] were so cooperative that I
even remembered to go get my camera -- something I never think of in
time. The woodpeckers stuck around, but alas, my camera battery was
dead. I made do with excellent close up views of the pair. In the
same little stretch I also saw: PILEATED WOODPECKER, HAIRY
WOODPECKER, DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, YR &
MACGILLIVREY'S WARBLERS, and GC KINGLETS.
Directions: From HQ [odo 0.0] drive ESE on Bear Ck Rd past Bear Ck
Campground [odo: 3.7mi]; at 4.1mi, the main loop road turns left
[closed until 7/15], a road to Potters Pond turns right, and Bear Ck
Rd. continues roughly straight. Go straight. The area with the BBWO
was between 5.4 and 5.6 miles from HQ. This is a relatively flat area
[after mostly hilly driving up til here], but still mostly mature
pines, unlike the younger trees just a little further down the road.
The BBWO were moving actively, but stayed primarily on the left side
of the road, in the narrow strip of mature trees w/in 50 ft of the
road.

About another mile down the road, I walked down a dirt road side spur
that opened into a boggy meadow. Here I saw RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS,
WARBLING VIREOS, MACGILLIVREYS WARBLERS, and a single VAUX'S SWIFT. I
was confused for a while by a few singing FOX SPARROWS who I'd let
drift from my audio memory since they left the Seattle area.

By 3:00, I had to head homewards, sadly. Can't wait to get back with
some planning and more time.
Just a couple high-points for the mostly driving focused trip home:
On the Rice-Orin Rd [getting between hwys 395 & 25], I had to stop
short to let 3 adult WILD TURKEYS and their 22! young cross the
road. Along Lenore Lake, on hwy 17, I stopped to watch an AMERICAN
AVOCET buzz several floating CALIFORNIA GULLS. Then, still on 17,
between Soap Lake & Moses Lake [around mp71 , first], I caught sight
of 2 BURROWING OWLS sitting along the fence posts at different
points. Finally, on the north end of Moses Lake, I stopped to see the
CLARK'S & WESTERN GREBES, paired up and doing a little head bobbing.

And that pretty much sums up a great weekend. I haven't quite
discovered the summer doldrums yet....

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA

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