This morning, Dennis Paulson led a small group of alumni of the Seattle Audubon Master Birder program from Seattle to Manastash Canyon (off the Thorpe exit on I-90 between Cle Elum and Ellensburg), with a quick stop at the Elk Heights burn. It was a great day with fantastic weather. We had 79 species on the day with several highlights.



Elk Heights Burn:

We found the nest hole of a pair of Black-backed Woodpeckers. Dennis commented that they were most likely still on eggs because the male and female were coming and going without any food. The black plumage was absolutely striking in the full sun. There were also singing Lazuli Buntings and House Wrens as well as a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers with severely worn tails.



Manastash Rd.:

Dennis showed us the nest of an American Dipper underneath a rock overhang at the edge of a creek. We assumed it was abandoned until we got the scopes on it: it had two chicks. Over the next ten minutes, we watched both adults feed the young, which were dangling precariously out of the opening of the nest over the stream. It was amazing to see how quickly the adults fed the chicks, on one occasion both adults each fed a chick one after the other in less than a second.



Riders Camp:

We followed Manastash Rd. up the mountain to Riders Camp, at an elevation of 5,000 ft. This campground is surrounded by enormous Lodgepole pines but the habitat across the road was the real treat: a stream fed meadow surrounded by high-montane mixed conifer forest. The low deciduous vegetation around the stream produced an unexpected Gray Catbird as well as a thoroughly scrutinized male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, which allowed excellent scope views on top of a tree. It's full, red gorget clearly extended to it's forecrown, distinguishing it from the more-likely Calliope Hummingbird. Dennis commented that it was quite unexpected at such an elevation. We stopped several more times on the way down the other side and saw Calliope Hummingbirds on two different occasions as well as both Nashville and MacGillivray's Warblers.



All in all, a fantastic day.



Canada Goose

Mallard

California Quail

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Killdeer

Glaucous-winged Gull

Rock Pigeon

Band-tailed Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Anna's Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Hairy Woodpecker

Black-backed Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Western Wood-Pewee

Hammond's Flycatcher

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Say's Phoebe

Western Kingbird

Warbling Vireo

Steller's Jay

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Violet-green Swallow

N. Rough-winged Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Mountain Chickadee

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Rock Wren

Canyon Wren

House Wren

Winter Wren

American Dipper

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Western Bluebird

Veery

Hermit Thrush

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Gray Catbird

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Nashville Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

MacGillivray's Warbler

Western Tanager

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Black-headed Grosbeak

Lazuli Bunting

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bullock's Oriole

Cassin's Finch

House Finch

Red Crossbill

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow