Hello Tweeters,

My wife and I have just completed an 8-day (mostly) birding trip to
Washington, and while the birding was not exceptional, we did have a few
nice finds, and the weather, scenery, and overall ambiance were marvelous.
While the prospect of finding a few lifers set our itinerary, I didn't want
the pursuit of these birds to keep us from exploring some of the spectacular
venues the state has to offer. We covered a lot of territory, and I'd like
to report on our findings, though a bit dated. First, though, I would like
to say thanks to Ron Louderback and Randy Hill who answered my query for
finding certain birds, and to Gina Sheridan who was most helpful with
specific targets, locations, and questions. Also to Mary Hrudkaj for being
so hospitable as we sought Mountain Quail at her home.

Our trip from Maryland began on Monday, 6 Aug with a mid-afternoon arrival
into Sea-Tac. We picked up our rental car, hit some bottle-neck traffic on
I-5, but were soon on our way east along I-90, enroute to Ellensburg where
we would spend two nights. The only western species we noted during the
two-hour drive east were GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL (Kings Co.) and BREWER'S
BLACKBIRD (common as starlings in WA, but a great bird in MD), the latter
being seen at a McDonald's where we were pleased to find hand-dipped ice
cream! Once checked into our motel in Ellensburg, we began our search for
Gray Partridge north of town, focusing on Hungry Junction Rd. and the
vicinity. We cruised around till dark, finding nothing that wasn't common
back east. I was amazed at the amount of water out in this arid climate.
All of the agricultural fields were being watered, and there were ponds
everywhere, one of them offering our only shorebird of the evening (besides
Killdeer)--a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER.

We were up early on Tuesday morning, 7 Aug, and headed out of town via
Umptatum Rd. The wind was kicking up much dust at 20-30 mph as it zipped
through the Kittitas Valley. And yet as we increased in elevation, the wind
greatly diminished. Thought it was supposed to be the other way around. We
crossed the Yakima River, whose banks were swollen with swift currents, and
began our climb. Not far out of town we got to see our first western birds:
CALIFORNIA QUAIL and BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. As we climbed up Umptatum Rd., we
added VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, HORNED LARK, and SAY'S PHOEBE to our list. Soon
we found our first WESTERN BLUEBIRDs, and a few MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDs. VESPER
SPARROWs were everywhere, it seemed, and among them we were able to find
about half a dozen BREWER'S SPARROWs. A family of ROCK WRENs flitted around
in habitat suitable to their name, and a cooperative SAGE THRASHER compelled
me to set up the scope for some digiscoping. We decided to hike the
Umptatum Creek Trail as far as the falls, and a pleasant hike it was. The
calls of WESTERN WOOD PEWEE were with us during the entire trek, these being
about the only birds vocalizing. We enjoyed seeing the red color of the
NORTHERN FLICKER, and got our first view of RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. Other
birds along the trail included three pairs of STELLER'S JAY, VG SWALLOW,
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, SPOTTED TOWHEE, YELLOW WARBLER, a drab WESTERN
TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. We rested briefly at the falls, took a
few pics, and headed back to the parking area, where we had a flyover COMMON
NIGHTHAWK.

As Umptatum Rd. entered Yakima Co., its name changed to Wenas Rd., and we
continued as far as the Wenas Campground. The only birds we added on this
portion of the trip were RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD and EASTERN KINGBIRD which
seemed to be quite common in this area. We were looking for Gray
Flycatcher, but despite the gorgeous weather, noon on a summer day is not
the time to be looking for any birds, and the campground was deathly quiet.
It was time to head back to the room for a siesta, but as we bumped along
the entry road to the campground, our rental car developed a serious rattle,
which was cause for concern, as the car was almost brand new.

Our evening plans were to head up into the mountains northwest of
Ellensburg, and look for owls in the vicinity of Blewett's Pass. We
departed Ellensburg a bit after 4 p.m., and once again cruised Hungry
Junction Rd. looking for those gray chickens, without luck. Our plan was to
drive up the beautiful Forest Road 35 into Table Mountain, and work our way
along some of the roads, getting to owl country as it was getting dark. The
trip started great. As the two-lane road turned into the single-lane
forrest road, we began some serious climbing, and at the completion of the
first switchback were halted by some activity. Here we stopped to find a
fledgling WESTERN TANAGER sitting helplessly on a Ponderosa Pine branch, as
a resplendent male made multiple sorties to come in and feed it. Soon a
CASSIN'S VIREO popped into and out of view, and then came my first ever
great look at a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. This bird was worthy of many
digiscoped shots. COMMON RAVENs were calling in the area, and a COOPER'S
HAWK flew over as we resumed our climb. We greatly enjoyed looking over our
shoulders at the beautiful scenery as the climb continued. An open area
hosted a flock of WILD TURKEY, and stopping at the sound of activity, we
were able to spish in a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, many MOUNTAIN CHICKADEEs, and a
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Flocks of sparrows appeared to be all Vespers. The
road turned to gravel, and then became quite rough. The rattle in our car
became almost unbearable, and brakes squealed piercingly. When I backed up,
the brakes grated and squealed. Darn! Up in the mountains where I've never
been before, nightfall on its way, and a car in questionable condition. It
broke my heart, but I didn't have the nerve to press on, so we turned around
and came back down the mountain. Once back on the asphalt, everything
seemed to be just fine again. It was still daylight when we returned to the
valley, so we cruised Hungry Junction Rd. and other side roads again,
finding no chickens, but getting a WESTERN MEADOWLARK as our consolation.
With darkness almost upon us now, I wanted to try for poorwills, so back to
FR 35 we headed, and between the beginning of the road and the end of the
first switchback we had six COMMON POORWILLs, including one that allowed us
to creep up right beside it for an awesome view, despite the low light.

Tomorrow we would be delayed in our birding in order to get the car checked.
We would bird Grant and Lincoln Counties, outlined in the next report.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie, MD
dy.dx at earthlink.net