Hi Tweets,



The short story for us is no Grasshopper Sparrows on Umtanum Road and two Northern Mockingbirds in Schnebly Coulee. The longer narrative describes a pleasant day of birding in Kittitas County with partly cloudy weather and temperatures in the 80s most of the day.



Our first destination was Bluebird Box 109 on Umtanum Road where Grasshopper Sparrows were reported about a week ago. We hoped we weren't too late for this species that tends to leave our state by mid-July, though rare sightings sometimes last through the month. The Grasshopper Sparrows reported from this area had left; perhaps they were migrants that had stopped here for a short time.



We met two fire trucks when we arrived at Untanum Creek. There had been a range fire on Tuesday that had burned almost to the creek near the parking lot. The crew chief told us we would find some heat, but no fire, and that they were still mopping up hot spots on the hill northeast of the creek; we should feel free to walk along the creek trail. Fire hoses were still laid along the trail for the first several hundred yards, after which the creek moved away from the area of the fire. We heard lots of birdsong and saw parents feeding young birds everywhere, including two harried Warbling Vireos trying to feed larger baby cowbirds, and the concentration of flycatchers was intriguing: perhaps 18 wood-pewees, 2 Willow and a half-dozen Pacific Slope Flycatchers, plus vireos, chickadees, nuthatches, Cedar Waxwings, and a forlorn and complaining young American Kestrel, 27 species in all. We walked all the way to the falls.



A bit further down Wenas Road, Northern Rough-winged Swallows flew over a wet meadow, a Prairie Falcon perched near Box 53, at "Kindle Lane" we saw flickers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Dark-eyed Juncos; two Lewis's Woodpeckers hawked insects near Observatory Road.



We drove out to the Columbia River and checked Huntzinger Road. It nearly 4 p.m. and here the temperature was over 90?. Below Wanapum Dam we saw American Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Osprey, Mallard, Common Merganser, and Caspian Tern. Above the dam we saw a few Common Loons and Western Grebes fishing, a flock of Ring-billed Gulls resting on the shore and Cliff Swallows along the road and over the water.



A nice breeze blew through Schnebly Coulee west of Vantage, and some cloud cover dropped the temperature into the low 80s. California Quail began streaming down the hillside in groups of five or six toward the streamside vegetation -- we saw nearly thirty. At the lower end of the canyon Barbara saw one of the Northern Mockingbirds on the south side of the highway. About ten minutes later at the residence on the Gingko State Park Trail we found both mockingbirds this time - they were across the highway and a bit to the east. We watched for a few minutes as they alternately perched on the power lines, then dropped into the brush below. We also watched around the boxes at Milepost 23.6 for the Ash-throated Flycatcher, but couldn't locate it. So we headed for home, having found 67 species on a very pleasant day in Kittitas County.



Common Loon

Western Grebe

White Pelican

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

Mallard

Common Merganser

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Prairie Falcon

California Quail

American Coot

Ring-billed Gull

Caspian Tern

Mourning Dove

Common Nighthawk

Lewis's Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Western Wood-Pewee

Willow Flycatcher

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

Violet-green Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cedar Waxwing

House Wren

Rock Wren

Northern Mockingbird

Sage Thrasher

Western Bluebird

American Robin

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Steller's Jay

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

European Starling

Cassin's Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat

Western Tanager

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Black-headed Grosbeak

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark

Brewer's Blackbird

Brrown-headed Cowbird

Cassin's Finch

Song Sparrow

House Finch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow



Paul Webster

Seattle

paul.websterATcomcast.net