Hello,
first of all, thanks to the more than twenty people
who have responded to my various requests for
information over the last few weeks. Taken together,
this information has completely reshaped my plans for
an upcoming week of camping and pursuit of target
species - and has greatly increased my chances of
finding some long-desired birds. I am truly grateful!
Needless to say, I will be posting the results of my
trip in detail upon my return (I leave this thursday
for a week).
A number of people have also written, requesting a
summary of the information recieved. Apparently I am
not the only one seeking these species! So here, in a
brief version for now, is the most helpful info about
the species I requested. Also, for those that do not
already have it, I cannot recommend Opperman's
"Birder's Guide to Washington" strongly enough - it
remains the core of information around which my trip
has been planned. Page numbers below refer to that
book.

WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER: Almost everybody cited the
Wenas campground for this one. (p. 300). The other
area that got more than one mention is the Sleeping
Lady Lodge near Leavenworth (p. 411) Richard Isherwood
offered "nestbox 45 on Umtanum Road west of
Ellensburg."

AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER: Two areas were
emphasized. The first is the apparently very hot Mud
Lake Burn where several birders have had great luck
with this and other woodpeckers lately. The Mud Lake
turnoff is off of 410 about a mile past the
intersection with 12. This looks to be about 12 - 15
miles NW of Yakima.(see area map on p. 297). Three
people mentioned sightings for this and the next
species in an aspen grove 5.3 miles up the road on the
left side. The other area, which Opperman calls the
best in the state for this bird, is backcountry route
39 in the Okanogan Cascades, especially between Roger
Lake and Long Swamp. I plan to camp one night at
Tiffany Springs; there have been several recent
reports in this area, along with BOREAL CHICKADEE, and
BOREAL OWL (H). Area also good for SPRUCE GROUSE?

BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER: Most of the recent sightings
seem to be coming from the Mud Lake Burn, making it
doubly interesting. People have had good luck in the
past at such areas as the Lost Lake campground NE of
Tonasket in the Okanogan, and the Sleeping Lady Lodge
near Leavenworth. Also Pend Oreille county, which
lies beyond the scope of my trip.

FLAMMULATED OWL: Despite my recent purchase of a much
stronger spotlight, I still have no confidence in my
ability to locate the more difficult owls. Still, I
will have a go at it. This species could occur in
many campgrounds, but was seen at least once this year
in or near the Wenas campground. Other reports of
heard birds. I have low expectations of finding this
bird!

GREAT GREY OWL: See general comments above - they
hold true for this, for BOREAL OWL, etc. However, for
the GREAT GREY I have recieved two reports of
sightings recently from the Okanogan Highlands; near
Wauconda (no details) for example.

BOBOLINK: A bizarre omission from my list, having
birded in many parts of the country. Nonetheless, I
remain hopeful on this trip. The most frequently
cited spot is on the Aeneas Valley Road, within a 100
yards of Highway 20 east of Tonasket. On page 452
Opperman cites a "large colony of Bobolinks" in the
fields where the Toats Coulee Rd. reaches the valley
floor near its intersection with the Loomis-Oroville
road north of Loomis. However, I recieved only one
mention of a single Bobolink from this area.

TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD: Bob Flores sent me great
information about the Texas Lake Road Trikes in
Whitman County. Boy are they in an out of the way
spot! I intend to try the Wilson Creek area mentioned
in Opperman (p. 388) first, as it is on my way. But a
detour might be in order if I cannot find one there.

In addition to the above goals, I hope to search for
about thirty-five reasonable potential additions to my
WA state list along the way. I would consider twenty
a roaring success! (The roaring twenties, so to
speak). Many of them I am quite confident of; they
seem to be fairly easy in the right places. And then
there are those few that are out there, but my chances
of stumblung onto them are tiny to say the least!
Finally, I have photographic targets as well.
Thanks again to everyone who has helped!


Victor Burgett, Birch Bay WA, vicjenb at yahoo.com




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