Hi Tweets,



Yesterday (April 4) Barbara and I birded around northern Kittitas County. The weather was overcast early with temps in the upper 30s around Cle Elum warming to hazy afternoon sun near of Ellensburg with temps in the upper 50s. Time spent in the field: 8 am to 5:30 pm. We found 71 species despite missing entire groups of birds - no wrens, swifts, or hummingbirds, a sign that spring for many birds hasn't arrived yet, and many of the perhaps 1,000 American Robins we saw are waiting for further snowmelt before they move into the mountains. Our route took us to Easton, Hundley Rd, Cle Elum, Durr Road (off of Umtanum Rd), and then through the northern Kittitas Valley, from Kittitas via Park Creek Rd to Colockum Rd, then west to Reecer Creek Rd.



Selected sightings:

Double-crested Cormorant - 8 roosting in a small tree at Easton

Turkey Vulture -2 perched in a tree on I-90 near Cle Elum, 2 others overhead

Osprey - 2 at Cle Elum

Wilson's Snipe - 2 on Smithson Rd just west of Lower Green Canyon Rd

Long-billed Curlew - at least 9 on Smithson Rd

Downy Woodpecker - 1 at the Elk Hills burn

Hairy Woodpecker - 1 in the same area, also Hundley Rd and Cle Elum

Black-backed Woodpecker - 1 seen at the Elk Hills burn

Northern Flicker - 2 at Elk Hills burn and more at other areas

Say's Phoebe - 1 near buildings on Colockum Rd

Violet-green Swallow - a few in Cle Elum

Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2 in Cle Elum

American Pipit - 2 at a pond on Durr Rd

Sage Thrasher - 4 singing on Durr Rd

Western Bluebird - 2 in Cle Elum, 4 on Durr Rd, 6 more in the Kittitas Valley

Mountain Bluebird - at least 12 seen

Townsend's Solitaire - 2 unsolitary birds on Colockum Rd

Varied Thrush

Pygmy Nuthatch

Cassin's Finch - around 20 at the Elk Hills burn

Red Crossbill - 5 females feeding on buds in a water-birch (?) near Swauk Cemetery

Pine Siskin - at least 100 in Cle Elum

American Goldfinch - a half dozen in Cle Elum

Evening Grosbeak - about ten in Cle Elum

Yellow-rumped Warbler - two Audubon's in Cle Elum

Vesper Sparrow - two singing on Durr Rd

Savannah Sparrow

Brewer's Blackbird - seen in small numbers at almost every stop



Good birding!



Paul Webster

Seattle

paul.websterATcomcast.net