Subject: [Tweeters] Eastern Phoebe at Lyon's Ferry
Date: May 30 23:43:04 2006
From: Charlie Wright - c.wright7 at comcast.net


Hello All
Sunday morning I set out with Bruce LaBar and Bill Tweit to southeast WA.
We arrived at Washtucna at around 8am to find the place windy and devoid of
migrants. Palouse Falls and Lyons Ferry were really no better. Birding Texas
Lake in the afternoon was an experience due to several intense thunder and
hailstorms, but again the birding was painfully slow.

After a night in Dayton we started out Monday morning along South Fork
Coppei Creek. The wind had not yet calmed so birding was a challenge, but
the riparian habitat is loaded with birds. Veerys and catbirds gave us very
nice views. We puzzled over a couple of Western Flycatchers singing in
riparian growth, which generally sounded good for Pacific-slope. Near the
end of the road, we did locate a Cordilleran Flycatcher which we could all
feel good about after listening to it vocalize for 20 minutes.
Next we headed up Biscuit Ridge Road out of Dixie. A very elusive
Green-tailed Towhee was heard, and seen in flight, in some snowberry patches
around the traditional area.
As the day wore on we checked Walla Walla River Delta, which had good
shorebird conditions, sans the shorebirds. Two Bonaparte's Gulls were the
only birds of note.

This morning, we arrived at Lyon's Ferry around 7:30. It was immediately
apparent as we drove in that a large number of migrants had moved in since
Sunday. We had 50 Wilson's, 25 Yellow, 8 Townsend's, 4 MacGillivray's
Warblers, 15 Western Tanagers, etc. The first good bird was a female
Black-throated Gray Warbler near the restrooms. We then walked out to the
island as usual, but were surprised to find little out there. As Bill and
Bruce walked back to the birdy areas, I checked the second island. On my way
back I spooked an EASTERN PHOEBE from the water's edge, which gave me a
clear view for about 20-30 seconds before I ran to get my fellows. We
couldn't refind it later unfortunately.
The tiny grove of trees at Sperry was loaded with birds, which seemed to
bode well for Washtucna. However, it wasn't quite as good there as at
Lyons. A late Hermit Thrush, a Lincoln's Sparrow, and a Dusky Flycatcher
were the highlights. At one point we could hear 4 Eurasian Collared-Doves
calling from different spots in town, so these birds continue to accrue
here. Good numbers of Common Nighthawks were flying up high.

That's about all.

Cheers
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington