This weekend I had planned to bird in the Ocean Shores area, but when I got up Saturday morning and it was raining I abruptly changed plans and headed to Eastern Washington to chase a few birds. I stopped briefly at Snoqualmie Pass and at Swamp Creek (I-90 at the Stampede Pass exit), then headed for Cle Elum Elk Heights. The weather turned out to be great on Saturday as was the birding. I birded the Umtanum/Durr Road in the Ellensburg area and worked my way down to Vantage along the old Highway. In the afternoon I birded the ponds at Dodson Road/Frenchman Hills Road, then headed straight for the Adams/Grant County Line Ponds in an attempt to locate the (Eurasian) COMMON GREEN-WINGED TEAL, a bird I really wanted to see. It was present and offered some pretty good looks with a scope. To round out the day I birded the Para Ponds in Othello, and finished up at Linde Coulee.

The next morning I stopped by Neppel Landing Park in Moses Lake with hopes that the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL might be around. It did not make an appearance so I went up to Soap Lake later in the morning to see what might be in the area, and had CLIFF SWALLOWS massing near some of the cliffs along the road. Finally in the afternoon I was back birding in the Vantage area primarily along the Huntzinger Road. All in all a great weekend of birding. Highlights included:

CLARK'S GREBE - a pair at Linde Coulee

COMMON GREEN-WINGED TEAL - Adams/Grant County Line Ponds

CANVASBACK - Para Ponds

REDHEAD - Adams/Grant County Line Ponds

TURKEY VULTURE - 1 at North Bend, 2 at the I-90 Stampede Pass Exit, 1 at Elk Heights

CHUCKAR - at Soap Lake and at Ginkgo State Park

BLACK-NECKED STILT - at the County Line Ponds, and at the Dodson Rd/Frenchman Hills Rd Ponds

AMERICAN AVOCET - Soap Lake and the County Line Ponds

LONG-BILLED CURLEW - at the County Line Ponds and east of Othello near Cunningham and LeMaster Roads

LEAST SANDPIPER - 3 at Soap Lake

DUNLIN - at Soap Lake, the County Line Ponds, and the Dodson/Frenchman Hills Rd Ponds

CASPIAN TERN - Para Ponds

BAND-TAILED PIGEON - Snoqualmie Pass

BURROWING OWL - 4 birds near Cunningham and LeMaster Roads east of Othello

WHITE-THROATED SWIFT - Soap Lake

BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER - Elk Heights

CLIFF SWALLOW - Soap Lake and the Huntziner Road

SAGE THRASHER - Old Vantage Hwy (MP 20) and the Umtanum/Durr Roads - Ellensburg

TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE - Swamp Creek (I-90 Stampede Pass exit)

ROCK WREN - Ginkgo State Park and along the Huntzinger Road

EVENING GROSBEAK - Cle Elum

BREWER'S SPARROW - Umtanum/Durr Roads - Ellensburg

VESPER SPARROW - Umtanum/Durr Roads - Ellensburg

SAGE SPARROW - Old Vantage Hwy (MP 20)

TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS - Para Ponds

CASSIN'S FINCH - Elk Heights

Cheers and Good Birding;



Michael Fleming

Ballard, WA

michaellf AT myway.com

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