Hi Ho Tweets

A group from Seattle Audubon went to the Vantage area today to look for sage birds and other interesting birds. While gathering in the parking lot we saw AMERICAN CROW, AMERICAN ROBIN and GREAT BLUE HERON. At our first stop at Snoqualmie Pass there were many COMMON RAVENS, AMERICAN CROWS and STELLER'S JAYS.

There was a TUNDRA SWAN on one of the ponds near Cle Elum. We went thru the town of Kittitas and between there and the old Vantage Hwy saw RED-TAILED HAWK, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, EUROPEAN STARLING, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, DARK-EYED JUNCO, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, BELTED KINGFISHER and ROCK PIGEON. Along the Vantage Hwy we saw a GREAT HORNED OWL on a nest in a tree behind a house, and a second one perched in a tree out front.

The wind was blowing hard today, just like predicted with constant 20 mph velocities and 30 mph gusts. As you would expect, the sage birds all decided that they would stay home comfortably under cover. We saw two HORNED LARKS and one SAGE SPARROW, both for very brief times.

On the old road down to the Columbia River we had nice looks at a SAY'S PHOEBE, and great looks at a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and a NORTHERN HARRIER worked the canyon over. A COMMON LOON and RED-NECKED GREBE were on the river. Up at the interpretive center we could see LESSER and GREATER SCAUP down on the river, some TREE SWALLOWS and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS flew by.

We worked our way down Huntzinger Road and found more scaup, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, AMERICAN COOT and CANADA GOOSE. Stopping by the pond we added COMMON MERGANSER. We also saw RING-BILLED GULL, a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, a BALD EAGLE and AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN (4). There was an AMERICAN KESTREL along the way as was a CHUKAR, and at one of the re-entrant canyon we had ROCK WRENS and a CANYON WREN singing.

On the way back west we had a surprising early OSPREY near Ellensburg. We stopped at the Elk Heights burn and found DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS, a NORTHERN FLICKER, and a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.

The outstanding birds of the day were the two female and two male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS at the northern end of the burn. We had some sun by then and the bright yellow crown of the male Black-backed was particularly striking.

All in all a great day, in spite of the wind early in the day. We wound up seeing a total of 50 species.

Good birding

Brian H. Bell
Birding & Natural History Guide
Woodinville WA
mail to bellasoc at isomedia dot com