Hi Tweets,


Barbara and I left Seattle early Friday morning on I-90, inspired by Brian Bell's description of the recent field trip he led in Kittitas County. East of Snoqualmie Pass we found broken clouds and temperatures that ranged from the upper 40s to the low 60s by midafternoon. Underway we noted a subadult Bald Eagle near the Roslyn exit and saw that the Osprey nest near the Cle Elum exit was occupied. Four Turkey Vultures circled overhead at the Indian John Hill rest area. Just east of the rest area a Red-tailed Hawk flew across I-90 carrying a small rodent. By the time we left the freeway at Kittitas we'd seen roadside Mallards, Rock Pigeons, magpies, Canada Geese, a kingfisher and a Double-crested Cormorant.



In Kittitas, an American Kestrel perched on a wire in front of the "Sure Shot Guns and Pawn" store. In town we also saw House Sparrows, starlings, Red-winged Blackbird, robin, and Killdeer. As we turned east on the old Vantage Highway a Ring-necked Pheasant walked about unwarily near the corner. We stopped a mile short of the summit road to Whiskey Dick Mountain. Two Sage Thrashers here sang from fenceposts, and two Sage Sparrows (the female was collecting nest material) flew about on the downhill side away from the road.



On the east side of the crest a Prairie Falcon cruised past as we turned onto the first road of the Quilomene Wildlife Area. Near the corral a House Sparrow seemed to have taken interest in one of the nest boxes, but another was occupied by a pair of Mountain Bluebirds. Across the highway a Rough-legged Hawk sat on the crossbar of a power pole, and a Say's Phoebe perched on the roadside fence. The second road into the Quilomene area netted good views of Sage and Brewer's Sparrows, Horned Larks, and a Northern Harrier. Further down Schnebly Coulee we searched the basalt columns and found a Great Horned Owl on the nest. Our next stop was the entrance of the Gingko Petrified Forest Interpretive Trail, where we found Chukar, a Loggerhead Shrike, and a Western Meadowlark on the south side of the highway, and Rock Wren, Spotted Towhee, Dark-eyed Juncos, and House Finches near the ranger's residence. In Vantage we looked down on a glass-smooth Columbia from the Interpretive Museum and found a few Pied-billed, Horned, and Eared Grebes, watched some Violet-green Swallows and another Say's Phoebe, then ate a sandwich in the car as a few raindrops fell, the only shower of the day.



On Huntzinger Road we stopped at Wanapum State Park, and got views of the first of several flocks of mostly Greater Scaup, totalling all together about 400 birds. We also found smaller numbers of other waterfowl -- around 40 Common Goldeneye below Wanapum Dam, plus Bufflehead, a couple of Barrow's Goldeneye, and American Coot. On the rocks to the west of the road we watched more Chukar and another Rock Wren. We also noticed a lone White Pelican south of the dam.



Back near Ellensburg we saw a few California Quail on Woodhouse Road, and on Ringer Loop Road we added White-crowned Sparrow, Green-winged Teal, and found an American Dipper in the Yakima River. It was after five when we drove north of I-90 on Reecer Creek Road, hoping for (but not finding) Long-billed Curlew that are said to be present there sometimes. We added American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, and Ring-necked Duck at a farm pond, found a Red-tailed Hawk on the nest, and another in the same tree, probably keeping an eye on the magpie near the treetop. There were also several kestrels, a concentration of 100+ American Robins along the upper creek, plus Savannah Sparrow and Brewer's Blackbird. As we turned from Lower Green Canyon Road onto Smithson Road, a Wilson's Snipe watched from a corner fence post.

We ended a very pleasant early spring trip with 62 species.



Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net