Hello Birders,

We just arrived home from a wonderful weekend trip to northcentral eastern Washington,where we located all our target species along with many additional highlights too! Our main areas of interest were made in Douglas and Kittitas Cos. with additional coverage made in Grant and Okanogan Cos. We birded from the 21st-23rd of April with a total of 129 species,but mush time was spent taken bird photographs and not just looking for birds. The weather all 3 days was great with no precipitation that hindered our birding! We will list a trip list for the following days,as well as areas covered and highlights noted at selected locations:

April 21st,2007

Today we birded with Tim O'Brien and his wife covering much ground from the Elk Heights "burn" in Kittitas Co. and end the long day near Leahy under threatening clouds. We began the day at the Elk Heights burn just after 7:30am,where we located a nice pair of BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS with the burn,as well as locating a probable nest site. Other species of note within the burn itself including good numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Cassin's Finches, as well as a few Western Bluebirds, a female Hairy Woodpecker and a single Townsend's Solitaire. After birding this location we continued east to Vantage,where we spent a short time visiting areas on both sides of I-90. Our first ventures were made north of I-90 to the Quilomene Wildlife Area,where we easily located multiple numbers of Sage and Brewer's Sparrows, as well as Sage Thrashers. Several Mountain Bluebirds were also noted along the old Vantage Hwy. On our return drive back to Vantage we located our only Chukar of the trip quickly running across the road before arriving to the boat launch area below the Gingko Petrified Forest State Park. Both areas of the Gingko Petrified Forest S.P. were rather slow,so we decided to continue eastwards towards Othello. A visit to Wanapum S.P. was quite slow,but a few species were noted included a Red-necked Grebe, 1 Great Horned Owl, 1 male Varied Thrush, 1 Orange-crowned Warbler and a Lincoln's Sparrow.

It was along S.R.26 we ran into heavy clouds that produced some light rain showers,but nothing severe. We located our first 2 Swainson's Hawks of the trip at the Corfu Woods along S.R.26, then a nice stop at the County Line "ponds" produced a nice gathering of birds that added to our day's list. Here, we tallied 70 Black-necked Stilts and 30 Am.Avocets, as well as 30 Dunlin and a single Greater Yellowlegs. Waterfowl species here included 9 Cinnamon Teal and a nice pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL along with small numbers of Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Redhead and a few other waterfowl species. Additionally, Tim spotted our only 2 Sandhill Cranes of the trip flying over as they headed westwards. Other species at this location included 2 BANK SWALLOWS and 3 Am.Pipits.

Our next stop was made north of Othello at the Para Ponds,which equally produced some nice species for us beginning with 4 SNOW GEESE and a single Eared Grebe that were scoped from the top of McManamon Rd. From this location we also scoped a single Am.White Pelican to the north in a large wetland area. As we descended downhill to the Para Ponds we tallied 10 Great Egrets, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 8 Dunlin, and 3 Caspian Terns. Further west of the Para Ponds in a corral area we easily counted 50+ TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS amongst lesser numbers of Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds. A very few Red-winged Blackbirds were also noted at this location and were treated to good comparisons between the two species including both male and female birds.

>From Othello we headed north to Wilson Creek with our only 2 Long-billed Curlews of the trip noted breeding in a large field along Hwy.17 just south of Soap Lake. At Wilson Creek we spent a good deal of time searching for Ferruginous Hawk(s),by checking areas along Kanniwai Rd. and the general Wilson Creek area. We located 10+ TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS at the traditional location east of the town of Wilson Creek . This location is described as along Road 22 NE(accessed off of Hwy.28)in a very small portion of a cattail marsh nearest steep hillside. We were very happy to see these birds here and they were also noted in such a limited area,where the remainder of the large cattail marsh was populated by Yellow-headed Blackbirds. From this same locating we detected a lone Snow Goose amongst a small flock of Canada Geese, as well as 18 Lesser Yellowlegs foraging from muddy areas. This general location looks promising for spring and fall shorebird migration! As the evening was upon us decided to work our way to our final day destination. Upon leaving Wilson Creek we located a nice adult FERRUGINOUS HAWK perched atop a telephone pole along Hwy.28. This was a great sighting for us all since we did alot of searching for this target species. The bird didn't remain perched for long,as it soon flew north to a ridge top on the north side of the highway,then soon flew off to another telephone pole in a large field before it finally flew off to the west to an unknown location. We left Wilson Creek excited! On our way back to Soap Lake we located a single ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK perched atop a telephone pole along Hwy.26 east of Stratford. We arrived to an area near Leahy,where we spent the night and ended the day nicely with 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS hunting over open areas just before 8pm.


April 22nd,2007

Today we birded only part of the day with Tim and his wife beginning with great,spectacular scope views of 13 GREATER SAGE GROUSE at a traditional "lek" area near Leahy. Other species noted from this general area included multiple numbers of Vesper Sparrows, Sage Thrashers and a few singing Brewer's Sparrows. We then traveled north to Central Ferry Canyon,where did search unsuccessful for Dusky Grouse,but located a few other species which made our trip to this location worthwhile. Most notable species from the upper portion of Central Ferry Canyon included: 1 adult Peregrine Falcon, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1-2 Red-naped Sapsuckers, multiple Pygmy Nuthatches, 1 Hermit Thrush, 4 Loggerhead Shrikes and a Chipping Sparrow. Upon returning downhill from the top of Central Ferry Canyon we ran into Khanh Tran of Oregon,who made this his 3rd unsuccessful attempt for Dusky Grouse. Upon talking with him he graciously informed us of a very recent Dusky Grouse sighting he had the day before at the Sun Mountain Lodge near Winthrop. We enjoyed his enthusiasm and knowledge,as we discussed our independent sightings then departed was with Tim and his wife. We made the 1.5 hour drive to the Sun Mountain Lodge,as we followed Khanh to the exact location where he observed a displaying male the day before. we were unable to locate that bird,but in the process located a very aggressive female DUSKY GROUSE along a trail near the same location.

This bird was the most aggressive by nearly attacking us,as we seemingly must have been to close to a possible nest site or just in it's territory. The bird pecked are all our feet and legs,as well as fluttered against us even with us being much larger than her. It was quite a sight and something we have never experienced ever before! As we descended back down the trail the bird backed off and became calm again. We left the bird and located a nice displaying male Dusky Grouse very near the Sun Mountain Lodge with Khanh,then after departing with him located an additional pair of birds on our own in the same immediate area. Apparently this location is a fairly reliable location for this sough after species,but it is a resort area and everyone that we ran into didn't seem our presence for looking for Dusky Grouse! It was interesting listening to the male Dusky Grouse and hearing how much more fainter their calls are compared to Sooty Grouse that we are accustomed to in western Washington. Other notable species encountered from the Sun Mountain Lodge included a single Townsend's Solitaire, 12 Mountain Bluebirds, many Cassin's Finches, and a single Evening Grosbeak.

After spending time at the Sun Mountain Lodge we worked our way back to Bridgeport,then south to Wilson Creek. On our only bird of note along the way was another ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK for our trip located along Hwy.17 southeast of Mansfield. Upon arriving to Wilson Creek we located the same adult Ferruginous Hawk atop the same telephone pole along Hwy.28. The bird remained quite shy and didn't allow close approach before it flew off to the west. In the same vicinity we located a light-morph type "Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk perched atop cliffs above Wilson Creek. This bird is very light at a distance,but upon further examination shows no characteristics of a Ferruginous Hawk,but could be confused if only going by overall lightness. We also located 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK observed together along Hwy.28 west of Wilson Creek. The rest of he day was spent east of Wilson Creek,where we located the same Snow Goose amongst a small flock of Canada Geese,where they grazed on grass near a cattle ranch. We also located some shorebirds in a muddy area of Wilson Creek that hosted 14 Lesser Yellowlegs, 3 Greater Yellowlegs and 3 Least Sandpipers.


April 23rd, 2007

Today we woke up to very fogging conditions at Wilson Creek,which quickly burned off by 8:30am. Our day began with 35+ TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS at the traditional location,as they all became agitated by a passing Northern Harriers. The bird all flushed from the small portion of the cattail marsh,chased after the Northern Harrier for a few seconds, then quickly returned to the same location in the marsh. Additionally, we also witnessed several Yellow-headed Blackbirds doing this same behavior,but the Tricolored Blackbirds seemed to stay in a very tight formation while trying to chase off the Northern Harrier. In a lush,riparian area along Road 22 NE(east of Wilson Creek)we located a NASHVILLE WARBLER followed by an Orange-crowned Warbler. At Wilson Creek we spent a short while searching for Ferruginous Hawk,but were unlucky in locating that species. We did locate a single flyover ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK,which may have been one of the birds we noted he day before. We continued west along Hwy.28 towards Soap Lake and located such highlights as 2 Gray Partridges west of Wilson Creek and a single CLARK'S GREBE at Brooks Lake.

Next, we enjoyed a nice visit to Oasis Park(accessed along Hwy.28 immediately south of Ephrata). Here, we detected our second NASHVILLE WARBLER of the trip followed by another Orange-crowned Warbler, and 10+ Cedar Waxwings. We also noticed that much of the trees and vegetation in the south portion of the park have been recently removed due to wind damage. Our final stop of the day and of the trip was made at Wanapum S.P.,where conditions were still quite slow as on the 21st. We did notice far more Yellow-rumped Warbler with 25 birds along with a single Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler and a Lincoln's Sparrow all noted in the north portion of the day use area of the park. Additionally, 2 Bank Swallows flew overhead calling loudly. All in all it was an exciting trip to areas that we covered with a great flavor of eastern Washington birding!


Other species of interest noted during the trip or for a given location include the following:

Turkey Vulture
1 bird along Hwy.28 east of Stratford,Grant on the 21st

White-throated Swift
3 birds observed along Kanniwai Rd. near Wilson Creek,Grant Co. on the 21st

Calliope Hummingbird
1 bird at Bridgeport,Douglas Co. on the 22nd

Winter Wren
1 bird at the Gingko Petrified Forest S.P.,Kittitas Co. on the 21st



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com