Tweeters,

A late report on grouse and ptarmigans in the Okanogan. Also breeding
Buffleheads.

Ellen and I headed to the Okanogan targeting White-tailed Ptarmigan, Spruce
Grouse,
and Boreal Chickadee. We ended up nabbing two out of three of our targets.
Unseasonably wet weather was forecast so we decided to forego a backpack
into Horseshoe Basin and instead try for ptarmigan on Chopaka Mountain.

Along the way, we stopped to scan Lake Lenore, picking up a number of water
and land birds (for our Year List!) and the Okanogan River mouth where a
least Flycatcher was still calling.

First we drove up to and beyond Long Swamp to Corral Butte to check out the
effects of the Tripod Fire (175,000 acres) that had apparently burned much
of the high elevation forest of Lodgepole Pine, Engelmann Spruce, and
Subalpine Fir along Forest Roads 37 and 39 last summer. We stopped every
third of a mile to check for woodpeckers as far as Corral Butte and saw it
was an intense fire but did leave some areas less severely burned. In the
gulch below Corral Butte, we saw Mountain Bluebirds feeding young where a
year ago Boreal Chickadees happily crept about the lichen-festooned
old-growth spruce and firs. Elsewhere we saw a few Dark-eyed Juncos and
heard the odd Hermit Thrush. We found only two woodpeckers, one juvenile
American Three-toed Woodpecker, and one Hairy. Overhead, at about 6 pm, two
Black Swifts dashed by overhead heading southwest towards the Methow Valley
and presumably their nesting sites in the high Cascades.

We camped Friday night at Cold Springs Campground near the trailhead to Mt.
Chopaka. We tried calling for for Boreal Owl, but had no luck. The dawn
chorus at 4:30 am Saturday morning (21 July) was brief but beautiful, and
dominated by Swainson's and Hermit Thrushes. Other birds I heard from my
sleeping bag included Lincoln's Sparrow and parties of Red Crossbills flying
overhead.

The trail to Mount Chopaka, four miles long, passes through, in the first
two miles, lots of Lodgepole Pine forest that should be good for Spruce
Grouse. We saw no grouse but plenty of cows, quite a lot of cows in fact.
The sagebrush slopes beyond the forest were peppered with bellowing cows.
Looking at the lush grassy slopes, I judged the original grass cover of
Idaho Fescue is now largely converted to a weedy pasture, an unfortunate
transformation. Though signed a DNR "Natural Resource Conservation Area," it
doesn't appear preservation of native flora is a top priority here. In fact,
the fence was broken (or cut?) at the Chopaka Research Natural Area and 30
or so cows were munching away in the natural area. These cows scattered up
farther into the natural area as we ascended but, on our return, they all
stampeded down out of the protected area!

High on Mt. Chopaka, the cloud deck was lowering, with fog enveloping the
summit. We decided to press on. We were in fog at times, then in clearing
enough to gain limited views as we climbed higher. Birdwise, we were soon
enjoying views of one of the four regular breeding birds of Washington's
Alpine Zone: the Alpine subspecies of Horned Lark. This mountain is a "dry"
alpine summit with an abundance of prostrate Arctic and Alpine Willow and
Mountain Avens, attractive to the lark. It has no but no seeps or perennial
snowbanks, to provide habitat for two of the other Washington alpine
breeders-American Pipit and Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. The fourth, however, is
present. A tiny number of White-tailed Ptarmigan breed, no doubt easterly
outposts in the Washington Cascades. We were lucky to chance on a hen with
two half-grown chicks. The hen was much more nervous than most that we
encounter and quickly led her chicks off to the boulder pile on the north
side of the summit. I wondered how many others of her brood had succumbed to
predation, perhaps the reason for her behavior. We took time to savor this
gorgeous patch of Alpine Zone landscape, remarkably only two (!) air miles
from shrub-steppe species such as Lark Sparrow 6,500 feet east and down in
elevation in the Champney Slough area. An array of habitats exist on this
dramatic escarpment: aquatic such as slough, marsh, and lake, and
terrestrial zones such as: Shrub-steppe, Ponderosa Pine, Douglas-fir,
Mixed-conifer, Subalpine, and Alpine. Combined, these contribute to make
this compact region the area of greatest known breeding bird diversity in
the state (Breeding Bird Atlas Survey data). We also scanned west to the
broad, rounded peaks of the Paysayten Wilderness Area, noting dead spruce
everywhere, killed by Spruce Bark Beetle.

After our hike we continued our Spruce Grouse search by driving the Cold
Springs Picnic Area, near the trailhead, very slowly. Ellen spotted a hen
with six young grouse snipping at leaves of Grouseberry (well-named, a
miniature huckleberry) carpeting the floor of the open Lodgepole Pine
forest. The hen several times flew up into a Lodgepole Pine and snipped at
pine needles, forsaking the tender leaves the chicks were munching. We kept
an ear open for Boreal Chickadee without luck.

Heading down towards Loomis, in Douglas-firs at about 5,000 feet elevation,
we watched 10 Clark's Nutcrackers foraging, a departure from Whitebark Pine,
their usual fare. Lower, we detoured to take a swim in Chopaka Lake. It was
windy and coolish (650 F) and swallows by the hundreds (Tree, Violet-green,
and Barn) were zipping about the lake surface. Down the road a stretch we
watched a Black Bear amble across the track and climb into a thicket of
Douglas Maples.

Still downward we met, just a few hundred feet up the steep Chopaka Lake
Road, two adult Chukars with 22 young! Were these two hens and two broods,
or both adults of a pair and one giant brood?

Heading north along the Simalkameen River, we continued our luck with
chickens as three nearly grown Dusky Grouse clambered about the roadside
just south Nighthawk.

We camped at Havillah, hoping for Great Gray Owl, but heard only distant
Great Horned. Sunday morning we walked the Highland Sno-Park area here,
adding Ruffed Grouse to our chicken list. We noted woodpeckers, as usual,
here, finding Red-naped Sapsucker, American Three-toed, Pileated, and
Northern Flicker. Red Crossbills by the score were, asd on Mt. Chopaka,
feeding in the Douglas-firs. Perhaps our lasting memory of this walk was a
Whitetail Deer uttering a loud wheezy snort, uttered in alarm?

Mid-morning we drove by Molson Lakes and noted a female Bufflehead hen with
four ducklings, a rare breeder in Washington. Barrows's Goldeneyes broods
were on many of the small lakes in this region. We added quite a number of
species to our trip list here, including five Common Loons in breeding
plumage.

Continuing our quest for Boreal Chickadee, we threaded our way east through
the Okanogan Highlands to Curlew then up to near Deer Creek Pass on the
Kettle Crest. Here we walked up a logging track by Third Creek in old
clearcuts alternating with old-growth Western Larch, Engelmann Spruce,
Subalpine Fir, and Douglas-fir. We noted the Engelmann Spruce here appear
healthy, unlike the widespread die-off by insects to the west.We saw three
species of chickadees: Black-capped, Mountain, and Chestnut-backed. We may
have heard a couple Boreals slipping by high in old-growth Engelmann Spruce
and Subalpine Firs at the crest, but neither of us could get onto them.
Darn! The habitat, though limited in extent, appears pretty good for this
species.

Species list:

Canada Goose
Mallard
American Wigeon
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bufflehead-hen with four ducklings on Molson Lake
Hooded Merganser-2 broods: Beth and Beaver Lakes
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Chukar-2 adults with 22 young
Spruce Grouse-hen with 6 chicks
Dusky Grouse-3 young
White-tailed Ptarmigan-hen with 2 chicks
Ruffed Grouse-adult only
California Quail-adults and lots of chicks
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Killdeer
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpipe
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Black Swift
White-throated Swift
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Lewis's Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Am. Three-toed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
ammond's Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Gray Jay
Steller's Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
No. Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net