Hello Tweeters,

Fred Boesche and I birded a few areas in the above counties yesterday,
looking especially for vagrants of which we found none. But we explored an
area I'd never birded before, and enjoyed what we did find nonetheless. The
weather was nice, mostly sunny but not too hot. In the holding pond at the
Hatton Rest Stop were several Black-necked Stilts, an American Avocet,
Spotted Sandpiper, and two Wilson's Phalaropes. Began the day at Bassett
Park in Washtucna. At first glance there were no birds to be seen, but as I
walked along the slope to the north I found that there were some. A Gray
Catbird was one of the first birds I saw in the park, giving a low-pitched
liquid "qwup" I'd never heard before. My first Common Nighthawks of the
year were flying overhead. There were about ten each of Warbling Vireos and
Wilson's Warblers, plus one each of Townsend's, MacGillivray's, Yellow,
Orange-crowned, and a Yellow-breasted Chat which seemed slightly out of
place. Of interest was a pair of Bewick's Wrens feeding several nestlings.
I'm not sure if they've been confirmed nesting in this area before.

Next stop was Palouse Falls State Park which was quite slow; there were
just a few Western Wood-Pewees and Wilson's Warblers. Nice views of the
huge falls and White-throated Swifts though. Two Common Nighthawks were
perched low in the trees. Further south at Lyons Ferry were more numbers of
birds including at least five Yellow-breasted Chats "singing." A Canyon
Wren was singing from the nearby cliffs. Windust Park gave us probably the
highlight of the day; a first year female American Redstart was foraging
with some Wilson's Warblers in a Black Locust tree. It allowed me to get a
bit of video before moving on. Also a Gray Flycatcher, obviously a migrant,
and a Willow Flycatcher singing. Many hundreds of California Gulls were
congregating at the Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River, perhaps eating
the stunned salmonids coming through. Also five American White Pelicans and
a nice view of a Clark's Grebe in the area. On our way back the County Line
Ponds (along Hwy 26) were full of 46 American Avocets, 15 Black-necked
Stilts, and many Wilson's Phalaropes.

Cheers and good birding,
--
Charlie Wright
Sumner, WA
charlie at birdwright.com