Hi Tweets,



Ryan Merrill and I spent this past weekend birding down around Mt. St.
Helens, the Trout Lake & Conboy Lake area, down through the Columbia River
Gorge to Ridgefield. We spent quite a bit of time in Skamania County,
particularly in parts that aren?t visited by too many birders. We found
quite a few nice species, and discovered a number of areas that look to be
worth many more visits.



We camped Friday night at the Iron Creek Campground south of Randle, in
Lewis County. We began Saturday morning at the Woods Creek Watchable
Wildlife Area along FR 25. This area has nice mix of forest and wetland
habitats. We then worked our way south into Skamania County, birding some
of the forested areas and sno-parks. We then drove up to the Windy Ridge
Viewpoint at Mt. St. Helens, stopping occasionally to see what we could find
in different parts of the blast zone.



>From Windy Ridge, we hiked out across the plains of ash and pumice,
primarily in search of Brewer?s Sparrows; Ryan had heard from someone doing
bird surveys in the area that numbers of Brewer?s were present there this
year. We were able to find one BREWER?S SPARROW out in an area of willows
near Spirit Lake. To reach this area, from the Windy Ridge Viewpoint,
follow the Truman Trail for about 4 ? miles. The trail runs along a gravel
road for about two miles, then descends onto the broad plain between Spirit
Lake and St. Helens. Stay on the Truman Trail by bearing right at the two
trail junctions. About 1 mile past the intersection with the Willow Springs
Trail, the trail descends to a low flat area with scattered willows; I
believe this is the area where most the Brewer?s Sparrows have been. The
one Brewer?s Sparrow we saw was actually about a quarter-mile east of this,
in an area with a few widely spaced willows, and lupine as the primary
ground cover. A really strange location and habitat for this species.
Getting to this area requires crossing a large wash that breaks up the trail
? look for the wooden posts to regain the trail. Also, note that travel in
this area is strictly limited to the designated trails to protect the local
environment and its integrity for research; apparently anyone caught
wandering off-trail is subject to large fines. The area is stark, but quite
different from anywhere else I?ve been in Washington, and definitely worth a
visit.



After returning to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint, we made our way east, up to
the Takhlakh Lake area on the northwest slopes of Mt. Adams. Along FR 2329
just SE of Takhlakh Lake, we found a fantastic patch of high-elevation
mixed-conifer forest that produced several interesting birds and seems to
have great potential for others. This is near where Joseph Higbee (I
believe?) photographed a Spruce Grouse several years ago, and some of the
habitat seems great for that species, as well as Three-toed Woodpecker and
possibly Boreal Owl. The area is along FR 2329 southeast of Takhlakh Lake
in northeastern Skamania County (Delorme pg 34 B-4). Much of the habitat
along FR2329 looks great, but we focused our efforts on one site in
particular. About ? mile past the entry to the Takhlakh Campground, there
is a rocky hill on the east side of the road. A nice trail leaves the road
on the south side of the hill ? this is probably the easiest way to access
the habitat. There are a number of large dead trees, and evidence of a
small fire in the last few years. In about half an hour searching here, we
found at least one female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER and one juvenile
WILLIAMSON?S SAPSUCKER.



We had planned to camp near Trout Lake, but were forced to take a long
detour due to a washout on FR 23 where it crosses the Lewis River. NOTE: If
you?re going to this area, you cannot get from the Takhlakh Lake area to
Trout Lake without driving well out of your way. FR 23 is washed out, and
all the smaller roads that could be used as detours are also washed out or
eroded so badly as to be impassable. This is well-signed from the Trout
Lake side, but not from the north. We ended up driving back north and
around to FR 25, then south to Carson and east up the Columbia River.
Because of this, we camped at Paradise Creek Campground along CR 30.



Sunday morning, we made our way south to the Columbia, east into Klickitat
County, and up to Trout Lake. We spent a few hours in the Trout Lake area,
at the Natural Area Preserve along Trout Lake Creek Road and the trail
running from Elk Meadows RV park along the west side of the Trout Lake
Marsh. Some of this time was spent in an unsuccessful search for American
Redstart and Northern Waterthrush, which have been found in the area in
recent summers. Next we headed east to Conboy Lake NWR. After birding the
marshes, fields, and pine forests around Conboy Lake, we drove south to the
Columbia River, then gradually worked our way west down the gorge, stopping
at various sites. We searched unsuccessfully in Skamania Co. for oak
specialists like Lewis? Woodpecker and Ash-throated Flycatcher; if anyone
knows reliable sites to find these species in the county, I?d love to hear
about them. After a brief stop along the highway overlooking Steigerwald
Lake, we finally made it to Ridgefield. There we found many of the common
species, but nothing particularly unusual, and we were disappointed to find
no migrant shorebirds at all.



Our last stops of the day were the Boeing Ponds and the Kent construction
ponds along S 212th Street. Boeing Ponds was quiet, but the construction
ponds held a few shorebirds, including a Greater Yellowlegs, about 7 Western
and 15 Least Sandpipers, one Long-billed Dowitcher, and 5 Spotted Sandpipers
including a very young juvenile. Also at the construction ponds were about
500 crows, the kind of concentration I?m used to seeing only at their
regular gathering and roosting sites. Perhaps this recently became one such
site. Have others seen large numbers of crows at this spot?



Various highlights from the weekend are below.



MUTE SWAN

- the long-staying bird at Steigerwald Lake was present on Sunday, viewed
from SR 14 east of Washougal



SOOTY GROUSE

- calling at various sites in Gifford Pinchot NF, and in mostly open areas
in the Mt. St. Helens blast zone along FR 99. We were able to spot one bird
calling about 100 feet up in a hemlock along FR 25.



SANDHILL CRANE

- at least 6 adults on their nesting grounds at Conboy Lake NWR, viewed
from the overlook at the headquarters



LEAST SANDPIPER

- 2 at the Skamania County Fairgrounds in Stevenson



BAND-TAILED PIGEON

- 10+ in pairs and small groups at the Trout Lake NAP; nice to find them so
numerous near the southeastern edge of their Washington range



NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL

- one responded to our tooting along FR 28



BARRED OWL

- pair calling much of the night right in Paradise Creek Campground



BLACK SWIFT

- four riding the high winds at Windy Ridge Viewpoint; as low as 50 feet
above the ground at times, with a few Vaux?s Swifts



WILLIAMSON?S SAPSUCKER

- one juvenile along FR 2329 southeast of Takhlakh Lake; according to the
county abundance checklists, this is a first Skamania County record. We
strongly suspect they are regular in this part of Skamania Co.



WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER

- one adult male and one juvenile in the Ponderosa Pine forest at Conboy
Lake NWR. These birds were right along Wildlife Refuge Road, just into the
forest, 100 meters west of the HQ parking lot



BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER

- one female along FR 2329 southeast of Takhlakh Lake



GRAY FLYCATCHER

- several in the Ponderosa Pine forest at Conboy Lake NWR, along Wildlife
Refuge Road



WESTERN KINGBIRD

- one along SR 141 north of White Salmon

- pair along Kreps Lane Road in Conboy Lake NWR



EASTERN KINGBIRD

- one along Kreps Lane Road in Conboy Lake NWR



RED-EYED VIREO

- 3 singing at Trout Lake NAP (along with quite a few Cassin?s Vireos)



HORNED LARK

- numerous, including many singing birds, on the pumice plain north of Mt.
St. Helens



PURPLE MARTIN

- several overhead along Skamania Landing Road, near their nest sites at
the nearby marina



ROCK WREN

- one singing on the south side of Wind Mountain, east of Carson



HOUSE WREN

- numerous in the Mt. St. Helens blast zone along FR 99



WESTERN BLUEBIRD

- several pairs along Kreps Lane Road in Conboy Lake NWR



MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD

- pair along the Truman Trail south of the Windy Ridge Viewpoint



VEERY

- one singing in the riparian corridor at Trout Lake NAP



GRAY CATBIRD

- at least 2 singing in riparian brush at Trout Lake NAP



HERMIT WARBLER

- a few apparently pure birds at various sites in Gifford Pinchot NF, but
significantly outnumbered by Townsend?s x Hermit warbler hybrids. Wakepish
Sno-Park along FR 25 was a great spot to compare different hybrid types,
with at least five birds ranging from a pure Hermit male to a very
Townsend?s-like hybrid



BREWER?S SPARROW

- one on the pumice plain along the Truman Trail near Spirit Lake, north of
Mt. St. Helens



LINCOLN?S SPARROW

- one singing on the pumice plain north of Mt. St. Helens, in the same area
as the Brewer?s Sparrow

- one at Trout Lake NAP, an unusual low elevation location for this time of
year



LAZULI BUNTING

- several in the Mt. St. Helens blast zone along FR 99

- quite numerous at the Trout Lake NAP



WESTERN MEADOWLARK

- several singing on the pumice plain north of Mt. St. Helens



PURPLE FINCH

- one singing along the trail that runs from Elk Meadows RV Park down the
west side of Trout Lake Marsh



CASSIN?S FINCH

- numerous in the Ponderosa Pine forest at Conboy Lake NWR, along Wildlife
Refuge Road (the road to the NWR headquarters)



RED CROSSBILL

- numerous fly-overs at various spots in Skamania County





Good birding,
Matt Dufort

Seattle, WA


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