Hello All,
After a week of watching the earth burn up in the Columbia Fire Complex from
Table Rock Fire Lookout. We joined Ginger and Rodger Shoemake and Joe
Corvino on a morning birding trip out to the cool blue Columbia River in
Western Walla Walla Co.to see what had arrived through the smoke here in the
Lower Columbia Basin. We first birded the Walla Walla River delta then the
Tyson ponds and on to the Two Rivers HMU on McNary NWR. We located the
following species of note.....................

Walla Walla River delta

Osprey..............1 ad.
Lesser Yellowlegs.....3 birds
Greater Yellowlegs....1 ad.
SABINE'S GULLS...2 sub-ad birds. this is our early date for this county.
Red-necked Phalarope..1 bird
White-crowned Sparrows....8 birds, first of the fall.
Virginia Rail........................1 adult
Western Sandpiper................23 birds

Tyson/Iowa Beef Ponds

Red-necked Phalarope.......135 birds
Bairds Sandpiper................5 birds
Horned Grebe.....................1 bird
Long-billed Dowitcher.........8 birds

Two Rivers HMU, McNary NWR

Bald Eagles....................2 sub-adult birds at the north end of Badger
Island. This is out earliest date in this county. Bald Eagles typically do
not appear here until mid-late November, so to have these two was completely
unexpected.

Common Terns............10 birds
Forsters Tern................3 birds
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER...1 bird, very rare in this area at this time of
year.
Great Egret....................2 birds
Herring Gull...................1 bird
Osprey..........................2 birds

Well that is it. Back up onto the Fire watch tomorrow and seeing more smoke
and raptors drift by.
Later Mike



********************************************************************
Mike & MerryLynn Denny
1354 S. E. Central Ave.
College Place, WA 99324
509.529.0080 (h)

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED!
*******************************************************************