Subject: [Tweeters] late winter weekend to eastern WA
Date: Feb 26 09:23:24 2007
From: Kathy Andrich - chukarbird at yahoo.com


Hi to the Sullivans and Tweeters,

Wow, 5 Northern Goshawks! I wished I had you with me
when I went east on Presidents Day weekend, but I am
glad I did not go on such a snowy weekend as I do not
have four wheel drive and the trip over Stevens Sunday
night was most interesting without 4 wheel drive.

I did get to see the Western Bluebirds near Concunully
and they were nice to see, they seemed a little early
arrival to me but I don't know what the normal date
is.
I missed on the Sharp-tailed Grouse and some other
"target" birds but did see Common Redpoll near
Concunully and Gray Partridges early in the am
cruising across the gravel lot by the Subway next to
Omak Inn in Omak. Plus tons of Rough-legged Hawks.
One was teetering perched in the middle of a phone
wire (dead giveaway that it was Roughie from afar) and
another one was perched on a bluebird box.

Thanks for your great report.

Kathy
Roosting in S King County



--- Ruth and/or Patrick Sullivan <godwit513 at msn.com>
wrote:

> Hello Birders,
>
> My mother and I led a successful private trip to
> eastern Washington with a total of 7 participants on
> the 24th and 25th of February with our primary
> birding efforts made in both Okanogan and Douglas
> Cos. Area of this trip covered areas beginning in
> the Conconully area in Okanogan Co. extending east
> to the Chesaw area on the 24th and areas in and
> around the Bridgeport-Pateros area on the 25th. The
> weather remained quite poor both days with near
> constant snow showers on both days with a few areas
> where it wasn't snowing,but dense fog persisted.
> Despite the rather poor weather we and all our
> participants had an enjoyable weekend ofr everyone
> with many highlights and good birding. Birding is
> great in the snow,although it may not be for
> everyone!
>
>
> Our trip actually began on Friday the 23rd of
> February,where we birded our way from Tacoma to
> Omak. During this time we encountered a few
> sightings of note we wish to mention first before
> continuing with our primary message. Our first
> notable sightings on the 23rd began with 4 Trumpeter
> Swans observed along the south side of I-90 east of
> Cle Elum in Kittitas Co.,where all 4 swans rested on
> an island in a slow portion of the Yakima River.
> Next, an Am.Dipper was briefly viewed along Hwy. 97
> along the Peshastin Creek south of the Hwy. 2
> intersection. Continuing northward we made a stop
> along Hwy.97/2 at Longmire Rd.(south of Orondo)in
> Douglas Co. Here we scoped several species of
> waterfowl on the Columbia River including a few
> Canvasback and several rafts of Ruddy Ducks. Nearby,
> on the east side of the highway at this location
> produced a Hermit Thrush, a Varied Thrush and a
> single Yellow-rumped Warbler,which were all noted in
> a dense stand of Russian Olive trees. We continued
> on Hwy.2 east from Orondo to Atkins Lake,where we
> encountered very good numbers of Rough-legged Hawks
> and small numbers of Horned Larks. We continued
> north along Hwy.17 from St. Andrews,where a large
> thawing seasonal "pond" at MP 110 produced several
> waterfowl species. Most noteworthy were a single
> Trumpeter Swan and 3 Canvasbacks amongst a flock of
> 11 Tundra Swans and 250+ Canada Geese. Continuing
> north of Mansfield along Hwy.17 we located 5
> Northern Shrikes at various locations that included
> sightings from the Leahy area. We ended the day
> nicely with 2 roosting adult NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS
> at Bridgeport State Park in Okanogan Co. near Chief
> Joseph Dam.
>
>
> On Saturday the 24th our main trip began at the
> Scotch Creek Wildlife Area along Conconully Rd. with
> moderate snowfall and limited viewing conditions.
> Our first highlight of the day were 3 WESTERN
> BLUEBIRDS that perched atop a fence line at the
> intersection of Happy Hill Rd. and Conconully Rd. We
> continued a short ways west along Conconully Rd. to
> a large pull-off along the north side of the
> road,where we waited a short while before 4
> SHARP-TAILED GROUSE were located,as they foraged
> together near the top of an alder clump along Scotch
> Creek. The birds all remained active feeding on buds
> and fluttering around in the trees before eventually
> they flew off to the north and west. This was our
> primary target bird of the trip,so we were equally
> pleased to see the birds even if the sightings
> weren't all the good due to the weather conditions.
> While watching the Sharp-tailed Grouse a flock of 50
> COMMON REDPOLLS flittered in the same patch of alder
> trees,but offered very poor views. A single immature
> NORTHERN GOSHAWK was also viewed from this same
> pull-off prior to seeing the Sharp-tailed Grouse,as
> it perched from one of two locations along Scotch
> Creek. After initially viewing the 4 Sharp-tailed
> Grouse and arriving back from a rewarding visit to
> the nearby town of Conconully we located 5
> Sharp-tailed Grouse just west of the original
> location,where these birds all rested calmly atop
> viewed from Conconully Rd. in an alder clump along
> Scotch Creek. We figured this group was same group
> that we observed earlier in the morning with an
> additional bird added. Whatever the case it was a
> far better sighting than the previous sighting since
> the birds seemed much closer to the road from our
> vantage point
>
> Our excellent visit to Conconully began with a flock
> of 20 PINE GROSBEAKS and 10-15 Red Crossbills that
> were first observed in trees along the shores of
> Conconully Reservoir before getting to the town of
> Conconully. The entire flock soon took flight and
> then all assembled atop a tall evergreen tree,where
> the they remained for some time as the foraged
> together. Soon our attentions were taken by a flock
> of 17 CASSIN'S FINCHES in the same tree from where
> the flock of Pine Grosbeaks and Red Crossbills were
> initially viewed in. The Cassin's Finches were a
> somewhat nice surprise given the time of year and
> for this size of a flock,where they allowed good
> scope views before they too flew off. In the same
> clump of trees all 3 species of nuthatches were soon
> noted(including 3+ White-breasted Nuthatches)along
> with a few Mountain Chickadees. This was a very
> active spot and we spent nearly 30 minutes watching
> all the birds before making a short drive to the
> town area of Conconully. Soon upon arriving to town
> we treated with good scope views of an immature
> NORTHERN GOSHAWK that perched near the top of a
> deciduous tree,as views from the main road near from
> bakery that was closed. Within a few additional
> minutes a second Northern Goshawk was viewed in
> flight while the other bird remained perched in the
> tree. We presumed the 2 Northern Goshawks were
> relying on wintering populations of California Quail
> in town,although we saw very few during our visit
> here. A single Townsend's Solitaire and a
> "Slate-colored"Junco were the only other highlight
> noted in town while a short visit to Conconully
> State Park yielded a flock of 20+ Pine Siskins.
> Before leaving Conconully we made a short drive
> along West Fort Rd.,where a scattered flock of 12
> Clark's Nutcrackers was encountered. Before arriving
> back to Hwy.97 an erratic and roaming flock of 100+
> COMMON REDPOLLS was briefly viewed in flight only.
>
> After a nice time spent in the Conconully area we
> all ventured east to the Havillah-Chesaw area,where
> we spent the remainder of the day. Conditions were
> the most "snowy" of the day especially above 4000
> feet in elevation in the Chesaw area with the
> Sitzmark Ski Area in full operation. It was very
> nice visiting the area especially since we have
> personal had few trips to the area during the
> winter. Although birding conditions were the slowest
> of the day we did locate a few highlights beginning
> with our 4th Northern Goshawk of the day located
> along Tonasket-Havillah Rd. near Mt.Hull Rd. Our
> second highlight included 30+ GRAY-CROWNED ROSY
> FINCHES that delighted us as they came to a feeder
> along Hungry Hollow Rd(Nealey Rd.)near Chesaw
> followed by a irruptive flock of 300+ COMMON
> REDPOLLS that foraged on a weedy hillside just
> uphill from the town of Chesaw along Chesaw Rd.
>
>
> Yesterday, on the 25th of February we woke up to 2+
> inches of snow in Omak and as we drove south along
> Hwy. 97 the snow only increased in depth and
> activity. Our first stop of the morning was made at
> Bridgeport S.P. after making a decision not to visit
> the Leahy area for Greater Sage Grouse,etc. due to
> the weather. The road to Bridgeport S.P. was covered
> by fairly deep snow,but all of us had 4 wheel drive
> and managed with no problems. Upon arriving to the
> park we estimated 6-8 inches of snow on the
> ground,which was a complete and total change
> compared to when 3 of us were here only 2 days
> before with no snow on the ground! Anyhow, within a
> short time we located 3 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS
> within the park including 2 birds in one tree and a
> single bird in another tree that were all fairly
> huddled under the cover of branches. One of these
> birds allowed the best of views for our group,as it
> sat out of the snow closing and opening it's eyes.
>
> After spending time watching the 3 Northern Saw-whet
> Owls at Bridgeport S.P. we worked our way to
> Bridgeport Bar,where the snow continued to fall. We
> checked a few locations in this area before driving
> to Central Ferry Canyon. It is here along the lower
> portion of Central Ferry Canyon Rd. our first group
> of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS of the trip was noted with 30 +
> birds was noted in orchards amongst the activity of
> Am.Robins and other birds. As we continued uphill
> into Central Ferry Canyon an adult Cooper's Hawk was
> noted followed by a small assortment of montane
> species in the upper forested area just downill from
> the top of this road. As we descended downhill a
> flock of 40 COMMON REDPOLLS was located,where they
> remained foraging in a birch tree along the east
> side of the road. As we continued further downhill
> our 5 immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK of the trip was
> encountered,as this bird flew across the road in
> pursuit of some type of prey in an orchard. As we
> stood along the road at this location hoping to
> possibly see the Northern Goshawk again 10 Varied
> Thrushes were active in a dense ravine on the other
> side of the road followed by our only Ruby-crowned
> Kinglet of the trip. As we left the location a flock
> of 150+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS flew overhead before
> flying over the hillside towards a large,extensive
> orchard.
>
> After birding Central Ferry Canyon Rd. we traveled
> across the Columbia River into Okanogan Co.,where we
> checked
=== message truncated ===>
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