Subject: [Tweeters] Grant County
Date: Oct 11 10:23:47 2005
From: Paul Webster - paul.webster at comcast.net



Hi Tweets,

Georgia Conti, Barbara and I left Seattle at 6:30 Sunday morning October 9th, going east on I-90, but without a specific destination in mind. As we drove down from Snoqualmie Pass into Kittitas County thick fog formed, so we continued east. The Columbia Basin was clear, and we decided to make a loop in Grant County [De Lorme 52-3 and 68-69] because we hoped to find some shorebirds, even though at this late date there weren't likely to be many left. We had a sunny day with temperatures in the mid-60s.



Our first stop was the unnamed (?) marsh at the junction of State Highways 26 and 24, close to the Columbia River, and birds sang and called as pairs chased each other about in what I've heard described as "autumnal recrudescent amatory urges." I understand that to mean that a spike of hormones this time of year makes the birds feel sexy again. The best birds here were a pair of Purple Finches, probably migrants, away from their normal wooded habitat on the east slope of the Cascades.



The next stop was the Corfu Road (B SE) where we ran into large numbers of birds, including another migrating forest dweller: a Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew into a convenient willow to hide from two patrolling harriers and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks. American Kestrels and a Loggerhead Shrike completed the suite of raptors here, and there was a lot to interest them: 2 pheasants, a talkative Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, lots of starlings, at least 50 American Pipits, a dozen Savannah Sparrows, about 30 White-crowned Sparrows, a couple dozen House Finches, and some House Sparrows, too. Some 300 yards east of the road 4 Sandhill Cranes foraged near Crab Creek.



We stopped next at Potholes State Park which we shared with boats and dogs, but the birds didn't seem to mind, and there were lots of at least some species: 20+ Mallards, 30+ Ruddy Ducks, 100+ American Coots, several flickers, 20+ magpies, 40+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, a dozen Dark-eyed Juncos. Driving across O'Sullivan Dam we saw several American White Pelicans, and a single swallow we didn't identify because we couldn't stop on the narrow road to look.



At Lind Coulee there were waders -- a Great Blue Heron, several Great Egrets, and a number of ducks, most of which were tucked away in a far corner of the coulee. The road was covered with White-crowned Sparrows that vanished into the bushes as we approached.



After a coffee break in Moses Lake, we checked in briefly at Lower Peninsula Park, where Georgia discovered 6 Canvasbacks and Barbara just made out a Clark's Grebe, both good scope sightings at long range. A group of some 20 Double-crested Cormorants and good views of a Pied-billed Grebe rounded out the visit.



Next we drove south on Dodson Road to the pond at the intersection with Frenchman Hills Road. Here we found a group of larger shorebirds: 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 4 Pectoral Sandpipers foraging close together, surrounded by dabbling ducks, mostly Mallards. At the far end of the pond we saw a fifth Pectoral Sandpiper. We checked the area where Burrowing Owls have nested a few hundred yards further west and found the junkyard has grown, and now includes old irrigation equipment, refrigerators, and a burned-out car, some piled directly on the mound where we formerly saw the owls. We didn't see them here on two visits earlier this year, so the owls probably won't be back; we hope these great birds have found another spot.



Our last stop was Quincy Wildlife Area some six or seven miles north of Frenchman Coulee. We saw a dozen more Canvasbacks there, accompanied by a lone Ring-necked Duck on Quincy Lake, where a Great Egret stood on a rock and watched 4 Long-billed Dowitchers work in the shallows. 16 Killdeer roosted on a rock at Burke Lake, and 4 Pied-billed Grebes swam further out; one of these actually took off and flew several hundred yards down the lake, in what seemed like an amazing expenditure of energy to cover that short distance. As we drove past Stan Coffin Lake a late Osprey and 2 Ring-billed Gulls circled above the water.



Species seen:

Pied-billed Grebe

Western Grebe

Clark's Grebe

American White Pelican

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Canada Goose - 2 groups overhead of about 20 birds each

American Wigeon

Green-winged Teal

Mallard

Northern Shoveler

Canvasback

Ring-necked Duck

Osprey

Northern Harrier - 6 at various sites

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk - 10+

American Kestrel - 10+

California Quail - 1 bird at Potholes State Park [SP]

Ring-necked Pheasant - 2 females

Sandhill Crane - 4 near Corfu

Virginia Rail - 1 at marsh on Corfu Road

Sora - 1 in Burke Lake at Quincy Wildlife Area [WA]

American Coot

Killdeer - 4 at marsh by Hwys 24 & 26

Long-billed Dowitcher

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Pectoral Sandpiper

Wilson's Snipe - 2 at first stop; 2 at Potholes SP, 2 at Quincy WA

Ring-billed Gull - 2 at Quincy WA

Rock Pigeon - 20 on cliffs at first stop

Mourning Dove - 2 at Corfu Road

Belted Kingfisher - 1 at first stop; 1 at Potholes SP

Downy Woodpecker - 1 male in cottonwoods at Quincy WA

Northern Flicker -at least 8 seen at various sites

swallow sp.

American Pipit

Marsh Wren

American Robin - 6+ at Quincy WA

Loggerhead Shrike

Steller's Jay

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

European Starling

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 40+ both Audubon's and Myrtle forms at Potholes SP

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow - 8 at first two stops

White-crowned Sparrow - more than 100 seen today

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird - about 8 at the first two stops

Western Meadowlark

Purple Finch

House Finch

House Sparrow



Total species: 57



Paul Webster

Seattle

paul.websterATcomcast.net