Hello Tweets,

My mother and I enjoyed a rewarding 5 day camping/birding trip to the Wenas area of Yakima Co.,specifically at the Wenas Creek Audubon Campout between May 22nd-May 26th. We encountered very good weather with the exception of a few isolated rain showers in the Wenas area on the 25th and encountered our personal highest diversity of species during attending the Wenas Campout with a total of 118 species of the 140+ species tallied during the Wenas Campout from selected locations including the general campground area(including along both Wenas and Dry Creeks), Hardy, Newland Road,and Wenas Lake. We also enjoyed our visit to this area by experiencing additional areas of coverage that we hadn't visited in past years along with encountering several notable highlights for the region. During our 5 day stay at the Wenas Campout we had good numbers of Black-chinned,Calliope,and Rufous Hummingbirds at our two hummingbird feeders in that order of abundance of both sexes,which was noteworthy for us. As mentioned previously we encountered several highlights,but probably most noteworthy for us was 3 sightings of Am.White Pelicans on 2 separate days along Wenas Road between Wenas Lake and Hardy Canyon,which of this species was added to the Wenas area checklist. On May 23rd we observed 1 flock of 37 Am.White Pelicans that had seemed to have lifted off of Wenas Lake,as we approached the lake from the west. The birds continued west towards the direction of Audubon and Malloy Rds.,as we watched them continue west and gain elevation and at our final observation of this flock we had the birds and snow-covered Bald Mountain in the same view in our binoculars,before the birds drifted north and out of view.We continued east along the north side of Wenas Lake on Wenas Road and noted another flock of 10 Am.White Pelicans flying to the north,as they circled before they too drifted north within a 20 minute duration of both sightings. On the 26th(today)on our return walk back from birding the lower Hardy Canyon area my mother and I and two other observers watched a flock of 38 Am.White Pelicans flying above Wenas Road from the east entrance to Hardy Canyon,as they drifted west towards Maloy Rd.,as in our first sighting and it is presumed the birds drifted north too as in our initial observation. Other main highlights over our long Memorial Day weekend to the Wenas area included the following:

Eared Grebe
3 at Wenas Lake on the 23rd

Wood Duck
1 along Maloy Rd. on the 23rd
3 along Wenas Road on the 24th
2 at Wenas Lake on the 23rd and the 25th

Cinnamon Teal
1 male at Wenas Lake on the 25th

Lesser Scaup
1 male at Wenas Lake on the 24th

Bufflehead
8 females at Wenas Lake on the 22nd with 5 there on the 24th

Ruddy Duck
7 at Wenas Lake on the 23rd

Turkey Vulture
7 along Maloy Rd. on the 23rd
4 along Wenas Road on the 22nd with 5 observed between Wenas Lake and Audubon Road on the 24th
8 along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 25th
2 at Wenas Lake on the 25th

Osprey
1 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 25th

Cooper's Hawk
1 at Wenas Lake on the 23rd
1 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 24th
1 at the Wenas Campground(CG)on the 25th

Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 at Wenas Lake on the 25th
1 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 26th

Prairie Falcon
1 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 26th

Virginia Rail
1 family at lower Hardy Canyon

Spotted Sandpiper
2 at Wenas Lake on the 24th
3 along Dry Creek on the 24th
2 along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 25th

Western Screech Owl
2 at the Wenas CG May 22nd-May 26th(with 1 individual bird observed well by many observers during a two night owl prowl)

Flammulated Owl
1 along Dry Creek on the 23rd

Common Nighthawk
1 at the Wenas CG on the 23rd

Common Poorwill
up to 6 heard calling and 1 bird seen well along Dry Creek on the 22nd with lesser numbers thereafter that were heard only

White-throated Swift
1 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 26th

Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 at the west access entrance to Hardy Canyon on the 24th and 25th(accessed from Wenas Road)

White-headed Woodpecker
fairly good numbers encountered at the Wenas CG(including along Hog Ranch Ridge)with a maximum of 8 birds observed on the 23rd

Ash-throated Flycatcher
1 calling bird heard at the east end of Wenas Lake on the 26th(our last bird in the Wenas area)

Gray Flycatcher
very good numbers noted along the western portion of the Wenas CG and along Hog Ranch Ridge on the 23rd-25th

Least Flycatcher
1 actively calling bird heard and seen at lower Hardy Canyon on the 23rd-26th

Clark's Nutcracker
1 over the Wenas CG on the 24th

Bewick's Wren
1 calling bird heard at lower Hardy Canyon on the 24th

Am.Dipper
1 adult and 2 juveniles along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 23rd-25th

Veery
up to 5 heard and seen along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 23rd with lesser numbers the remainder of the days

Swainson's Thrush
1 observed and heard along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 23rd and 25th

Gray Catbird
2 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 23rd with 3 observed there on the 26th

Loggerhead Shrike
1 pair along Newland Road(west of Hardy Canyon)on the 24th and 25th(photographed)

Red-eyed Vireo
1 calling bird heard at lower Hardy Canyon on the 24th

Townsend's Warbler
1 at the Wenas CG on the 23rd and on the 25th

American Redstart
1 pair observed along the North Fork of Wenas Creek(north of the Wenas CG)on the 24th(with presumably the same female initially observed by Charlie Wright previously on the morning of the 24th)

Common Yellowthroat
1 at Wenas Lake on the 24th

Yellow-breasted Chat
2 at lower Hardy Canyon on the 23rd with up to 6 heard and seen there on the 25th

Brewer's Sparrow
4 heard and observed singing along Newland Road

Golden-crowned Sparrow
1 adult along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 24th and 25th(initially observed by Charlie Wright on the morning of the 24th), which is our personal latest date of the species in spring in WA

Purple Finch
1 pair along the North Fork of Wenas Creek on the 24th and on the 25th



My mother and I also observed a few additional species to and from destinations during our 5 day visit to the Wenas area including the following:

Ring-necked Duck
5 at Leech Lake(Lewis and Yakima Cos.)

Harlequin Duck
1 pair along the Tieton River north of Rimrock Retreat along Hwy.12 on the 22nd and 26th

Barrow's Goldeneye
2 at Dog Lake along Hwy.12 on the 22nd
9 at Leech Lake,YA/LE on the 26th

Turkey Vulture
13 along Hwy.12 between Rimrock Lake and the Oak Creek Wildlife Area on the 26th

White-throated Swift
15+ along Hwy.12 south of the Oak Creek WA on the 22nd and 26th

Olive-sided Flycatcher
1 calling bird heard at the White Pass CG,YA on the 26th

Yellow-breasted Chat
1 calling bird heard and observed near the Hwy.12/410 intersection on the 22nd


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net