Barb and I went to Yakima County yesterday, March 1, in largely sunny weather with temps perhaps in the low 60s. Winter seemed past, though there were only a few signs of spring. We were searching for a Long-eared Owl that has been seen in a row of mixed pines south of Yakima at Branch Road and Lateral A. We met the owner of the property, a very pleasant encounter. He said that only one Long-eared Owl had roosted there this winter, and that the norm in past years was several pairs. There was also a Great Horned Owl roosting there, too, this winter. He thought the Long-eared had taken several of his kittens (though to us the Great Horned seemed a far more likely culprit). But we couldn't find either owl in an hour of carefully searching the trees. There are other, less accessible pines a short distance away, and perhaps the owls -- if they're still present -- were roosting there.

At the Selah Rest Area on I-82 north of Yakima we saw 3 Red-tailed Hawks, a PRAIRIE FALCON, and a lone VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. From the row of pines we went to Toppenish NWR and spent an hour checking out the refuge ponds and trees. We turned up a good assortment of dabbling ducks, a YELLOW-RUMPED (AUDUBON'S) WARBLER, and a GREAT-HORNED OWL on the nest. Along Hwy 22 near Granger there was a Red-tailed Hawk on its nest. We tried to find waterfowl at Sunnyside Wildlife Area near Mabton, but found only a young couple with .22 caliber rifles shooting at assorted animals and objects at the end of McGee Rd.

Near dusk we drove down Huntzinger Rd south of I-90 in Kittitas County, hoping for the spectacle of GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES described so well by Alan Roedell a couple of weeks ago. But we found only a few finches on the cliff, along with a PRAIRIE FALCON, a half-dozen starlings, and a lone SAY'S PHOEBE.

We saw a lot of birds, but badly flunked the species per mile test discussed on Tweeters a few weeks ago. Total species seen: 45

Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Gadwall
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
Redhead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk -- one on nest near Granger on Hwy 22
American Kestrel
PRAIRIE FALCON -- 1 at Selah Rest Area; 1 on cliffs by Huntzinger Rd
Chukar
American Coot
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
GREAT HORNED OWL -- one seen on nest
SAY'S PHOEBE -- 1 on cliff by Huntzinger Rd
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW -- 1 overhead at Selah Rest Area
Rock Wren
American Robin
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
European Starling
YELLOW-RUMPED (Audubon's) WARBLER -- 1 at Toppenish NWR
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
House Finch
House Sparrow

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net