Hey birders!

Late yesterday (6/26/05), coming back from a family vacation in Oregon,
three of us made a few stops in southeast Washington to do a little birding.
First, we drove over to Horn Rapids County Park (Benton County) and easily
saw the 2 NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS in the day-use area. Although they didn't
sing, we had fabulous views of this rare species. Dad spotted a COMMON
NIGHTHAWK roosting far out on a branch in a dead tree, and I got photos of
it. We had the best views I've ever had as it slumbered there. Also at the
park were many Bullock's Orioles, Eastern and Western Kingbirds, and Cliff
Swallows.

Our next stop was the Iowa Beef/Tyson Ponds in western Walla Walla County in
hopes of the WRSA and other goodies. In about an hour of looking through
the birds, no WRSA was found, but we did see 9 species of shorebirds! The
first pond was almost dry and had absolutely nothing. The second pond was
great for shorebirds, and is where we saw almost all of them. The third
pond had lots of water, lots of ducks, and only a few avocets and stilts for
shorebirds.

Here's what we saw. Some numbers are approximates.

Killdeer - 24
Black-necked Stilt - 18 + chick
American Avocet - 36 + 2 chicks
Lesser Yellowlegs - 6
Greater Yellowlegs - 1
Western Sandpiper - 16
Least Sandpiper - 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1, assumed to be the same bird that the Denny's saw
Wilson's Phalarope - 20
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 5
Cinnamon Teal - 2
Mallard - 50+ mostly in the last pond
Redhead - a bunch in the last pond
Northern Pintail - 8
Green-winged Teal - lots
Ring-billed Gull - 15
Northern Harrier - 2
Ring-necked Pheasant - 2 females plus 6 chicks
Bank Swallow - bunches, possibly from the colony on the road coming in?

We then drove on down to the Walla Walla River Delta to see what was around.
Way out there (!), there were 7 CASPIAN TERNS, 2 FRANKLIN'S GULLS,
CALIFORNIA GULLS, an OSPREY, and about 8 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS.

Good birding as fall migration sets in! [Wow! Already?]

Michael Woodruff
Spokane, WA

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