Subject: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Hood Park
Date: Feb 24 19:34:03 2004
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

My mother and I spent two days(February 23rd and 24th)birding western Walla Walla Co. and points beyond and were able to locate the 1st year Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Hood Park on the 23rd previously reported by Mike and MerryLynn Denny and other birders. The bird was only briefly seen on the 23rd at 4pm,where it was observed foraging amongst fairly dense undergrowth along the eastern portion of the park between the picnic area and the campground area(immediately east of the amphitheater). The bird called once at this time,but could not be relocated thereafter. The bird was not relocated today(February 24th)during our morning visit between 7:45am-9:30am,but perhaps the bird may still be around. We could not locate any food sources for this bird such as active sap holes in any trees during our entire visit to Hood Park,except for a few small holes on a patch of pine trees near the amphitheater,so we do not know what this bird was feeding on during it's visit. We expected to find some fresh sapsucker holes,but perhaps the bird was ground feeding or searching for insects from various areas within the park. We arrived at Hood Park at 12:30pm on the 23rd and spent nearly the entire remainder of the day scouring the park,including walking the entire perimeter of the park and trails along the wetland area(east of the picnic and campground area). This park has a lot of potential for birding,although much of our visit was quite slow until the early evening when birds seemed to flock in from everywhere. We also experience very active times during our morning visit on the 24th,which faded quickly after 8:30am. Nevertheless,it was good to see the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and several other species we observed at Hood Park including excellent close views of a cooperative Northern Saw-whet Owl on both days. We also made a visit to Fishhook Park(about 20 miles north of Hood Park along the Snake River)on the 24th,where we were entertained with good close views of 2 Northern Saw-whet Owls, of which allowed photographs to be obtained from both parks. Both parks are closes to recreational activities,but walk-in access is available from entrance gate(s)and from the boat launch area at Hood Park.

Our trip began on the 23rd with a flyover Northern Pygmy Owl along Hwy.18 just north of the Green River bridge,as we continued our way eastward towards Snoqualmie Pass. We observed a few more noteworthy species on our way to Pasco on the 23rd before arriving at Hood Park at 12:30pm. Additional notable highlights observed at Hood Park on one or both days included the following:

75+ Wood Ducks
1 male Eurasian Wigeon
2 Cooper's Hawks(1 adult on the 23rd and 1 immature on the 24th)
1 adult dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Brown Creeper
7 Bewick's Wrens
1 Hermit Thrush
3 Varied Thrush(with 8 there on the 24th)
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
7 Yellow-rumped Warblers(with 18 there on the 24th)
3 Spotted Towhees
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow
43 White-crowned Sparrows
25 Dark-eyed"Oregon"Juncos
8 Am.Goldfinches

On the 24th we checked a portion of the morning at Hood and Fishhook Parks,then worked our way home with a stop made in the Vantage area with a few additional species that were added to our trip list. A list of other highlights encountered during both days include the following:

Eared Grebe
7 at Vantage on the 24th

Western Grebe
9 off the Walla Walla River Delta on the 23rd
1 along the Snake River at Fishhook Park on the 24th

Black-crowned Night Heron
1 adult flying along Hwy.12 at McNary NWR on the 23rd

Tundra Swan
4 along I-90 at MP 105(west of Ellensburg)on the 23rd
9 flying over Fishhook Park on the 24th

Wood Duck
125+ at the grain elevators along the Snake River at the Hood Park boat basin on the 24th

Rough-legged Hawk
3 along I-90(west of Thorp,Kittitas Co.)on the 23rd with 2 there on the 24th

Golden Eagle
1 along the "old"Vantage Hwy.,Kittitas Co. on the 24th

Peregrine Falcon
1 sitting atop the Vaughn Hubbard bridge along Hwy.12(over the Snake River)on the 23rd

Prairie Falcon
1 at the Quilomene Wildlife Area,Kittitas Co. on the 24th

Chukar
several heard calling at Vantage on the 24th

Dunlin
30+ at the Walla Walla River Delta on the 23rd

Say's Phoebe
1 at Vantage on the 24th

Horned Lark
small numbers encountered both days including several along S.R.240 in the Hanford area,1 along S.R.124 north of Burbank Heights,8+ at the Tri-Cities Airport, and the "old"Vantage Hwy

Rock Wren
1 along the "old"Vantage Hwy. on the 24th

Western Bluebird
5 at Vantage on the 24th

Northern Shrike
1 adult along I-90(west of Roslyn,Kittitas Co.)on the 23rd



Mammal highlights of the trip included the following:

150+ Roosevelt Elk observed both days along S.R.240 in the Hanford area
1 Coyote at the Tri-Cities Airport on the 24th
7 Yellow-bellied Marmots at Vantage on the 24th



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Tacoma,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net