Hello Tweets,

Today Ken Knittle and my mother and I birded the Columbia Gorge primarily
along the Hwy.14 corridor in both Skamania and Klickitat Cos. The beginning
portion of the day remained very foggy in several areas that was slow to
burn off,which hampered birding at times. We were able to finally break out
of the fog when we gained elevation along Hwy. 97 north of Hwy.14 on a side
visit to Goldendale. The sun and bright blue skies were a welcome sight,as
well as spectacular distant views of Mt.Adams and Mt.Hood. After arriving to
Goldendale we drove the side streets in and around the grain elevators
before locating 16 EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES near the intersection of East
Main and Wilber Streets. This location is northeast of the grain elavators
and the birds moved around from tree to tree before resettling back near the
original location. This was our best species of the day although we did
encounter a good assortment of other species too.

We began the day along Hwy.14 in Skamania Co. with our first bird of the day
being an adult Peregrine Falcon observed flying to cliffs above Cape Horn.
We continued eastward checking several areas along the Columbia River that
offered some viewing potential east to the Lyle area. Here, we encountered
an assortment of usual waterbirds including Western Grebesn good numbers of
Common Goldeneyes(with only one Barrow's Goldeneye of the day,being at the
mouth of the Wind River),both Greater and Lesser Scaup and other waterfowl
species.

At Lyle we birded around Balch Lake on two visits,where overall conditions
were quite slow. The only notable sightings for this location included 5+
Lewis' Woodpeckers, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches.
>From Lyle we continued east to Goldendale,then driving south and birding the
general Maryhill area(including Maryhill State Park and Maryhill Museum). At
Maryhill S.P. we located a few nice species for the location and season
including 2 Hermit Thrushes, 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2 "Sooty"Fox Sparrows
and 1 Lincoln's Sparrow. We also located an adult pair of Peregrine Falcons
flying along the rimrock cliffs along Hwy.97 immediately north of the park
entrance.

After birding Maryhill S.P. we drove a short ways east to the small
community of Maryhill,where we located our first LESSER GOLDFINCHES of the
day with 5 birds observed in fruit orchards. We also located another "Sooty"
Fox Sparrow and a Lincoln's Sparrow amongst White-crowned and Golden-crowned
Sparrows in a dense bramble area.

Further west we walked the grounds of Maryhill Museum,where 4 Lesser
Goldfinches were located amongst good numbers of Am.Goldfinches. Other
highlights here included 4 Varied Thrushes and 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
amongst more common species. While driving a short distance west of Maryhill
Museum we located an immature Golden Eagle soaring with at least one
Sharp-shinned Hawk above a hillside north of the highway.

Continuing west and back in Skamania Co. we made a stop at Stevenson at the
Skamania Co. Fairgrounds,where the 2 adult Greater White-fronted Geese were
observed,as they mixed with a flock of larger domestic geese. We ended the
day nicely along Hwy.14 overlooking the Steigerwald Lake NWR in Clark
Co.,where the MUTE SWAN was spotted by Ken. We were then able to soon get
good,but distant scope views of the bird as it swam and foraged alone in a
wetland area.

Other noteworthy species encountered during the day included the following
species:

Cooper's Hawk
1 bird chasing a Northern Flicker near Balch Lake

Say's Phoebe
2 birds along Hwy.97 approximately 2 miles north of Hwy. 14(north of
Maryhill)
1 bird along Hwy.14 west of Maryhill Museum


Our mammal highlight of the day were several California Ground Squirrels
noted at locations between Lyle to Maryhill,where the were observed out
sunny themselves after their recent hibernation.


Good birding,

Patrick Sullivan
(roosting with the Knittle's in Vancouver,WA)




Ken Knittle
Washington Birder newsletter
2604 NE 80th Street
Vancouver, WA 98665
360-574-2590
mailto:washingtonbirder "at" hotmail.com