Subject: [Tweeters] Columbia Basin shrub-steppe class report-30 April
Date: May 2 20:56:10 2005
From: Andy Stepniewski - steppie at nwinfo.net


OLD VANTAGE HIGHWAY TO COLUMBIA NWR
30 APRIL 2005


Ellen and I led a Seattle Audubon Society fieldtrip to the Columbia Basin to find and interpret shrub-steppe birds in their respective plant communities. The weather was "fine" throughout the day; the usual springtime winds never kicked up.

We began near the top of Schnebly Coulee in a ravine thickly mantled in Bluebunch Wheatgrass, with an overstory of Big Sagebrush, a shrub-steppe habitat typical of moist parts of the shrub-steppe. We made a quick pass by a Sage Thrasher nest holding downy young. Along our walk, we all had fine views of this species, both singing and perched. The other shrub-steppe passerine abundant here was Brewer's Sparrow; these were singing from all quarters of the ravine. Vesper Sparrows were sparse, perhaps the habitat was too thick with shrub cover. Distant singing Sage Sparrows didn't invite close study. Lovely Mountain Bluebirds graced the wires and dipped to the ground, apparently flycatching. Here, we studied a pair of Gray Flycatchers, seemingly quite happy on territory. Scott Downes reported this species here or nearby a few years back; it seems reasonable to suggest a tiny number are breeding in this atypical (for Washington) habitat.


Farther down the coulee, we spied on a Great Horned Owl guarding its half-grown young. Not far away, Common Ravens were nesting in a basalt outcrop.



At the bottom of the coulee, at the Ginkgo State Park Interpretive Museum, Say's Phoebe and Western Kingbird provided nice views, as well a sprinkling of colorful spring migrants in the little oasis by the museum: Orange-crowned, Nashville, and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Bullock's Orioles.



Huntzinger Road, south of Vantage, was pretty quiet in the mid-day heat. White-throated Swifts zoomed several thousand feet above at clifftop level. A Rock Wren barely came into view, but we couldn't roust a Canyon Wren.



Along the access road to the John Wayne Trail, we called in the State threatened Sage Sparrow and had close studies of this beautiful bird, attired in soft shades of gray. The habitat here is a shallow-soiled lithosol, with Rigid Sagebrush, Sandberg's Bluegrass, and various buckwheats. A baby Black-tailed Jackrabbit huddled in full view by the base of a sage. This is another species on the conservationist's radar screen, its numbers apparently in steep decline. We listened for Lark Sparrow, common in this habitat, but we found none; evidently they've not arrived yet.



Across the Columbia River and east on Crab Creek, we made several stops in Greasewood and Saltgrass habitat at the north base of the towering Saddle Mountains. The salt flats along this stretch are completely dry this year, so we would have to wait for a shorebird "fix." Highlights here included an imposing Golden Eagle working its way along the cliffs, White-throated Swifts dashed high overhead, and we heard calling Chukar and Canyon Wrens. Neither the Chukar nor wren could be coaxed into view, probably on account of the mid day heat. Scoping the tall cliffs revealed at least three Northern Flickers high above the valley bottom, a long ways from any upright trees. I thought these woodpeckers might be up there routing out ants.



Along a wide stretch of Crab Creek near Corfu, we admired a Forster's Tern cruising along a slow, wide stretch of the creek, a beautiful study, indeed.



Loggerhead Shrikes proved elusive to me, but the vehicles behind me had better views. The Greasewood habitat along Crab Creek is a proven area for this species.



At the convenience mart on SR-26, a light-phase Swainson's Hawk soared over, our only view of this species on the trip.Most of the group was up for the "extension," as it was only about 4 PM.



>From here, we headed east to County Line Ponds (Grant and Adams Counties) along SR-26. Here were the shorebirds! We swelled our list by adding a nice variety of showy waders. Margins of this saline wetland, so typical of Great Basin ponds, provided stunning views of Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Least and Baird's Sandpipers, Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe, and Wilson's Phalarope. Five American White Pelicans, all adorned with their breeding "horn," slowly advanced in formation on the larger pool, dipping their beaks every little while, a typical foraging strategy.



Along Seep Lakes Road northwest of Othello, we peered into a canal side hole to spy on a nesting Barn Owl. Farther along this road, several stops yielded views of Long-billed Curlew, Horned Larks and Grasshopper Sparrow. The sparrow was in a weedy grassland habitat, seemingly unsuitable for breeding. Perhaps the bird was simply passing through.



Our last stop in early evening, in a sandy shrub-steppe habitat dominated by Rabbitbrush, Bitterbrush, and Needle and Thread Grass, we had brilliant views of a pair of Burrowing Owls, another species of conservation concern. Up until the 1980s, this owl was common in this area, however much of its former shrub-steppe habitat has been converted to irrigated agriculture.



Bird species noted, those typical of the lower Columbia Basin shrub-steppe habitats in upper case:


Canada Goose
Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Redhead

Common Merganser

CHUKAR-heard only

Ring-necked Pheasant

California Quail

Common Loon

Pied-billed Grebe

Horned Grebe

Western Grebe

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Osprey

Northern Harrier

SWAINSON'S HAWK

Red-tailed Hawk

Golden Eagle

American Kestrel

PRAIRIE FALCON

American Coot

Killdeer

BLACK-NECKED STILT

AMERICAN AVOCET

LONG-BILLED CURLEW

Least Sandpiper

Baird's Sandpiper

Dunlin

Wilson's Snipe

WILSON'S PHALAROPE

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Caspian Tern

Forster's Tern

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Barn Owl

Great Horned Owl

BURROWING OWL

WHITE-THROATED SWIFT

Hummingbird sp.

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Gray Flycatcher

SAY'S PHOEBE

WESTERN KINGBIRD

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE

BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE

Common Raven

HORNED LARK

Tree Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

ROCK WREN

CANYON WREN-heard only

Mountain Bluebird

American Robin

SAGE THRASHER

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Orange-crowned Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Spotted Towhee

BREWER'S SPARROW

VESPER SPARROW

SAGE SPARROW

Savannah Sparrow

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

WESTERN MEADOWLARK

Brewer's Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bullock's Oriole

House Finch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow



Andy and Ellen Stepniewski

Wapato WA

Steppie at nwinfo.net