Natalie and I broke away from our solo birding habit yesterday to lead a
small group of three other birders from the Tahoma Audubon Society on a
long Birdathon journey from Titlow Beach in Tacoma to the Potholes
Wildlife Area near Moses Lake, and back, all in one day. Over our roughly
500 mile trek that started at 7 a.m. Saturday and ended at about 12:30
a.m. this morning, we managed to see 106 species, despite rainy weather,
wind, and generally less than favorable birding conditions.

There were a number of highlights along our route, and a number of
surprising missed species that we had counted on to reach the 100-species
mark, but the biggest thrill had to be ending the day at sunset around 8
p.m. at the ponds on the corner of Dodson Road and Frenchman Hills Road,
where we enjoyed watching the nesting Black-necked Stilts, a pair of
Wilson's Phalaropes, and the last of our swallow species of the day -
Bank Swallows chasing each other in the rich, high-contrast sunlight. We
were also fortunate enough to take a few last photos of a pair of
Burrowing Owls along Dodson Road on our way back to I-90 at their roost
just east of the road.

Among the big misses for the day: no Peregrine Falcon (the Tacoma pair
was hiding...), no nuthatches, only one wren species, no Calliope
Hummingbird, no Loggerhead Shrike, no American White Pelican, and others...

What follows is the list of species we saw, in the old taxonomic order
used on the bird checklist we had on hand for the day:

1. Pied-billed Grebe - Seen in Frenchman Hills Road ponds

2. Eared Grebe - Just south of the Vantage Bridge in choppy waters

3. Western Grebe - Excellent close-up views at the Potholes Wildlife Area

4. Double-crested Cormorant - In Tacoma, Dodson Road, and Potholes WA

5. Great Blue Heron - None until we reached Eastern Washington

6. Great Egret - Small number under dark, rain storm skies at Potholes WA

7. Black-crowned Night-Heron - A single bird flying overhead at Potholes WA

8. Turkey Vulture - Near Lake Easton State Park along I-90

9. Canada Goose - In Tacoma

10. Wood Duck - Two stunning males at the Potholes WA

11. Mallard - In Tacoma and east

12. Blue-winged Teal - In the Hyak Sewer Ponds, Potholes WA, and others

13. Cinnamon Teal - A number of individuals at Potholes WA

14. Gadwall - At Potholes WA

15. Canvasback

16. Redhead - At Potholes WA

17. Barrow's Goldeneye - Hyak Sewer Ponds

18. Osprey - In the nest at the South Cle Elum exit from I-90 and near
Kittitas

19. Bald Eagle - In a tree top along Hwy. 18 near Peasley Canyon, being
harassed by crows.

20. Northern Harrier - Along Dodson Road

21. Swainson's Hawk - One along I-90 near Kittitas and another on Dodson Road

22. Red-tailed Hawk - Numerous, along Green River and points east

23. American Kestrel - At Swauk Prairie near Cle Elum and others

24. Chukar - On a rock pile along the side of Old Vantage Highway, near
Gingko State Park

25. California Quail - Cle Elum and numerous locations along Old Vantage
Highway

26. Virginia Rail - Heard only, in wetlands along Old Vantage Highway
east of Kittitas

27. American Coot - Potholes WA

28. Killdeer - In Tacoma and points eastward

29. Black-necked Stilt - In the ponds at Frenchman Hills Road

30. Spotted Sandpiper - Along Gold Creek near Hyak and at the Hyak Sewer Ponds

31. Long-billed Curlew - Flew over I-90 to the north near the Dodson Road
exit.

32. Common Snipe - Two in wetlands along Old Vantage Highway and
winnowing over the ponds at Frenchman Hills Road.

33. Wilson's Phalarope - Two in the ponds at Frenchman Hills Road.

34. Bonaparte's Gull - A few diving and feeding in the Tacoma Narrows,
seen from Titlow Beach.

35. Western Gull - In Tacoma

36. Glaucous-winged Gull - In Tacoma

37. Caspian Tern - Seen in Tacoma, from Thea's Park along Dock Street.

38. Pigeon Guillemot - Numerous at Titlow Beach and in Commencement Bay.

39. Rock Dove - Numerous locations

40. Mourning Dove - Numerous locations

41. Burrowing Owl - Two along Dodson Road near the end of the day

42. Vaux's Swift - Seen at two locations on Snoqualmie Pass

43. White-throated Swift - Along I-90 near Vantage

44. Rufous Hummingbird - At Snoqualmie Pass and Gold Creek

45. Belted Kingfisher - At Titlow Beach, Ruston Way in Tacoma, and at
Potholes WA

46. Red-breasted Sapsucker - A stunning male at a nest hole along Green
Valley Road on the Green River

47. Downy Woodpecker - Two birds at cottonwood trees in Ellensburg

48. Northern Flicker - Along the Green River and points east

49. Olive-sided Flycatcher

50. Western Wood-Pewee - A number of birds along Gold Creek near Hyak and
points east

51. Hammond's Flycatcher - Great looks at an individual in the cemetery
along Ballard Hill Road and Swauk Prairie Road east of Cle Elum

52. Dusky Flycatcher

53. Say's Phoebe - At the Gingko State Park trails and the interpretive center

54. Western Kingbird - Swauk Prairie and along Old Vantage Highway

55. Eastern Kingbird - Two birds at Potholes WA

56. Steller's Jay - At Snoqualmie Pass

57. Black-billed Magpie - Numerous birds from Cle Elum eastward

58. American Crow - Numerous

59. Common Raven - From Snoqualmie Pass eastward

60. Purple Martin - 13 individuals at Titlow Beach to start the day,
others at Dickman Mill Park along Ruston Way in Tacoma and flying
overhead at Thea's Park

61. Tree Swallow - Along Green Valley Road near Auburn

62. Violet-green Swallow - numerous locations

63. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - numerous locations

64. Bank Swallow - At least three individuals at the ponds along
Frenchman Hills Rd

65. Barn Swallow - At the old Asarco site pond in Tacoma and points east

66. Cliff Swallow - At the old Asarco site pond in Tacoma and points east

67. Black-capped Chickadee - In Tacoma and along Green Valley Rd.

68. Mountain Chickadee - Nesting bird in the cemetery along Swauk Valley
Road east of Cle Elum

69. Chestnut-backed Chickadee - At Snoqualmie Pass

70. Bushtit - In Tacoma

71. Bewick's Wren - Single bird calling at the Gog-li-hi-te Wetlands in Tacoma

72. American Dipper - Two along Gold Creek near Hyak and two along the
Teanaway River at the bridge along Red Bridle Road.

73. Western Bluebird - Swauk Prairie and points east

74. Mountain Bluebird - Swauk Prairie and points east

75. Townsend's Solitaire - Heard in Cle Elum along South Cle Elum Airport Rd.

76. American Robin - In Tacoma and points east

77. Sage Thrasher - At least three birds seen along Old Vantage Highway,
including a good look at the Quilomene Wildlife Area

78. European Starling - In Tacoma and points east

79. Cedar Waxwing - In bushes along Frenchman Hills Rd.

80. Orange-crowned Warbler - At Snoqualmie Pass

81. Yellow Warbler - At Gold Creek near Hyak

82. Common Yellowthroat - In wetlands along Green Valley Rd. near the
Green River

83. Wilson's Warbler - Along Green Valley Rd. and points east

84. Spotted Towhee

85. Chipping Sparrow - In the cemetery along Swauk Prairie Rd.

86. Brewer's Sparrow - Numerous seen and heard at the Quilomene WA along
Old Vantage Highway

87. Lark Sparrow - At least two birds seen at the Potholes WA

88. Sage Sparrow - Numerous heard but not seen at the Quilomene WA

89. Savannah Sparrow - Along Green Valley Rd. and points east

90. Song Sparrow - In Tacoma and points east

91. White-crowned Sparrow - In Tacoma, Gold Creek near Hyak, and points east

92. Golden-crowned Sparrow

93. Dark-eyed Junco - At Snoqualmie Pass

94. Black-headed Grosbeak - Heard at numerous places, seen at Potholes WA

95. Red-winged Blackbird - Along Green Valley Rd. and points east

96. Western Meadowlark - Swauk Prairie and points east

97. Yellow-headed Blackbird - At Potholes WA and along Dodson Rd.

98. Brewer's Blackbird - Along Green Valley Rd. and points east

99. Brown-headed Blackbird - Along Green Valley Rd. and points east

100. Bullock's Oriole - At the Gog-li-hi-te Wetlands in Tacoma

101. Purple Finch - At a bird feeder in Cle Elum

102. House Finch - In Tacoma and points east

103. Red Crossbill - Three birds in pine trees in the cemetery along
Swauk Prairie Rd.

104. American Goldfinch - Along Gold Creek near Hyak

105. Evening Grosbeak - Two birds at a feeder in Cle Elum

106. House Sparrow - In Tacoma and points east.

The most surprising part of the day for me was that we reached our 100-
plus tally without birding along the Columbia River near Vantage. We
opted to bag on that part of the trip due to the time and heavy white
caps on the river under windy conditions.

It was definitely a good day despite the dodgy weather.

Happy birding!

--
Rob McNair-Huff ---------- Tacoma, WA
Author of Birding Washington (Falcon Publishing, 2004)
and Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula (Globe Pequot, 2001)
White Rabbit Publishing ---- http://www.whiterabbits.com
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com
The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html