Hi Tweets

Yesterday, Michael Hobbs and I led a trip for Seattle Audubon to the Teanaway River area east of Ellensburg. We had a gorgeous day, clear, cool early and warm later. We made the usual brief stop at Snoqualmie Pass as saw several BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD at the feeders at the Travelers Rest, HOUSE SPARROW and a EUROPEAN STARLING. Because we wanted to get an early start we then blasted down east of Cle Elum, being surprised by 4 CANADA GEESE on the upper end of Keechelus Lake and seeing the OSPREY on the nest along I-90 near Cle Elum. We made a stop along Lambert Road to inspect a feeder where Michael had a Black-chinned Hummingbird last week - no luck yesterday. We did see TREE, VIOLET-GREEN, CLIFF, BARN and BANK SWALLOWS, HOUSE FINCH, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, GRAY CATBIRD (singing its head off in a willow and taking forever to locate), AMERICAN CROW and RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER.

>From there we went along Red Bridge Rd picking up BREWER'S BLACKBIRD and a flock of CALIFORNIA QUAIL with at least 20 wee small scurrying young ones. At the bridge over the Teanaway we found an AMERICAN DIPPER a ways downstream working the gravel bar over, many NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS upriver and occasionally coming down near the bridge. A SPOTTED SANDPIPER came teetering past flying away from the river. A VEERY obligingly perched in a cottonwood tree and sang for us, even remaining out in the open. We heard a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, saw a couple of AMERICAN ROBINS and had a female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE zoom from the cliff to the forest - too quick for most of us to pick up.

We started up the Teanaway River Rd and stopped briefly overlooking a very wet field that contained 28 KILLDEER. Our next stop was along the West Fork road. We picked a likely spot, parked and walked along the road for about 1/2 mile birding. It was now a wonderful sunny morning and we had WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWs singing, a RED-TAILED HAWK sailed off its perch, WESTERN BLUEBIRDs along the hillside. We had a somewhat distant SHARP-SHINNED HAWK perched in a snag. In one small patch of deciduous trees we had a brilliant male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, a WILSON'S WARBLER, a WARBLING VIREO, and had AMERICAN GOLDFINCH flying overhead. A WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE worked from the limbs of a snag doing its flycatching. A CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD most obligingly perched and turned so we could see all sides nicely. A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH crawled on a tree, while a HOUSE WREN sang up the hillside.

We drove to the end of the West Fork road and walked along the road. We had a CASSIN'S VIREO singing and making itself invisible, but Michael finally got a very brief look at it. A RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER flew into a Ponderosa Pine and worked its way around the tree. CEDAR WAXWINGS were present, a SONG SPARROW sounded off, another two RED-TAILED HAWKS were soaring across the valley, a BELTED KINGFISHER flew up the river. A CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE called and posed for us. A female WESTERN TANAGER called and flew into a tree followed by one of the brightest male TANAGERS we have seen. In the bright morning sun it literally dazzled. As we worked our way back down the road the Red-naped was in the same tree and flew across the valley into a large snag. There, it was accosted by a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER and the two quarreled. Several CHIPPING SPARROWs were along the road.

At a stop going back down we were able to access the river itself and heard and saw more VEERIES, WARBLING VIREOs, and had a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER.

Along the North Fork Road, we stopped and walked up an old road (between Dickey and Middle Creeks). We saw YELLOW WARBLER, WARBLING VIREO, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, COMMON NIGHTHAWK (high overhead), CASSIN'S FINCH and several mysterious Empidonax flycatchers (the little devils just wouldn't give us definitive views and nobody was doing much singing). We heard a downy/hairy type woodpecker calling but couldn't find it - finally turned out to be young bird calling from the nest hole. A young Hairy with sturdy bill and reddish flecking on the top of the head, rather than at the back of the crown. On the way back down the hill we had a female EVENING GROSBEAK in gorgeous plumage drop down into the road ahead of us and pick up gravel.

We stopped at 29 Pines campground for lunch and had a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD zinging around the picnic site, a male EVENING GROSBEAK came in and another flycatcher species.

Things were really quiet at Beverly Campground so we continued up to the end of the road at the Esmerelda Basin trailhead. Along the way we found a female COMMEN MERGANSER in the North Fork of the Teanaway. We flushed several PINE SISKINS. As we slowly went back down the road we listened carefully. At one point we stopped for a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, who was too far back in the trees. But, a most cooperative NASHVILLE WARBLER came and perched in the open for us. It turned nicely so we could see all sides and note the distinguishing points from a MacGillivray's. Further down at Camp Wahoo we heard a "jay?" calling. When we stepped out we saw 12 CLARK'S NUTCRACKERs fly from one tree to another. At another spot we heard another TOWNSEND'S WARBLER singing, and had a DUSKY FLYCATCHER and a HERMIT THRUSH sang.

We parked on the edge of FR9738 along Jack Creek and walked the road. Even for a hot afternoon we had fairly good bird activity with many of the birds we had seen earlier in the day - EVENING GROSBEAK, AMERICAN ROBIN, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, PINE SISKIN, YELLOW WARBLER, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, SONG SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (including juvenile). A LAZULI BUNTING posed nicely for us for many minutes. A COOPER'S HAWK sailed thru the forest.

We finished by going back down canyon to the Swauk Prairie area. We picked up MOURNING DOVE, AMERICAN KESTREL, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, EASTERN and WESTERN KINGBIRDs, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, WESTERN and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDs, VESPER SPARROW, NORTHERN HARRIER and TURKEY VULTURE.

On the way home we saw 28 TURKEY VULTUREs swirling around the Roslyn exit from I-90, another just west of Easton and 5 at Snoqualmie Pass.

Other birds we saw during the day included: ROCK PIGEON, NORTHERN FLICKER, COMMON RAVEN, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, SPOTTED TOWHEE, DARY-EYED JUNCO, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD.

It was a great day, with ideal weather and wonderful birds. We finished up with 82 species for the day.

Brian H. Bell
Birding & Natural History Guide
Woodinville Wa
bellasoc at isomedia dot com