Natalie and I led a field trip for the Tahoma Audubon Society yesterday
on a loop from Ellensburg, up and over Ellensburg Pass, into the Wenas
Campground and down the Wenas Valley to the Yakima River Canyon. Despite
cloudy skies most of the day and heavy downpours on the drive home
through the canyon and along Interstate 90, we still had some interesting
birding highlights.

Here are some tidbits:

Along Red Bridge Road east of Cle Elum (Kittitas County):
- Our first YELLOW WARBLER of the season, singing along the road between
the highway and the Teanaway River
- HERMIT THRUSH along the shores of the Teanaway River, seen from the bridge
- Pair of AMERICAN DIPPER and possible young heard under the same bridge
over the Teanaway River
- A mating pair of AMERICAN KESTREL, including the male going in and out
of a nest cavity in a cottonwood snag south of the same bridge

Along Swauk Prairie Road:
- VESPER SPARROWs singing, along with the SAVANNAH SPARROWs
- A MERLIN alighting for a few moments at the top of a snag on the drive
down out of the prairie and back toward the highway

Along Umtanum Road up and over the ridge:
- SAGE THRASHERs, BREWER'S and SAGE SPARROWs singing and common through
the portions of the shrub steppe that have yet to be developed into
ranchettes with views...

In the Wenas Campground:
- WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKERs heard calling in the mature pine trees just
past the horse and motorcycle camping areas
- RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER hammering at the cottonwood trees at the end of the
campground area
- A HAIRY WOODPECKER we photographed as it enlarged a nest cavity in a
small cottonwood snag
- A fly-over by a single NORTHERN GOSHAWK, clearly seen with broad wings,
long tail and strong wingbeats
- At least two VAUX'S SWIFTs mixing it up over the treetops along with
VIOLET-GREEN and TREE SWALLOWs
- NASHVILLE WARBLERs (2) singing as we drove out of the campground area,
alongside the beaver ponds and wetlands

Other highlights of the trip included more mammal variety than we see on
many of our field trips:

- A small herd of elk along Gold Creek near Snoqualmie Pass
- A deer herd in Swauk Prairie
- Golden-mantled and Townsend's ground squirrel
- A pocket gopher
- A pair of yellow-bellied marmots

And despite the cloudy skies and off-and-on rain, we also saw seven
butterfly species - all in the Wenas Campground area - including Sara's
Orangetip, Mourning Cloak, California Tortoiseshell, Cabbage White, and
one unidentified species each of a blue, white and yellow butterfly.

Add the Painted Lady butterfly I saw in our yard today and it was a good
weekend for butterflies as well as birding!

Happy bird watching.

Rob

--
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
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