Subject: [Tweeters] Birding Klickitat County
Date: May 7 07:42:33 2007
From: wheelermombi at comcast.net - wheelermombi at comcast.net


Good morning Tweeters,

On Sunday, I birded southern Klickitat county with Dave Hayden to scout out the region for an upcoming Audubon field trip. The day started out decently enough, but by the early afternoon the wind had really picked up, causing a lot of birds to hunker down. This was especially true at Columbia Hill Natural Area Preserve, where we practically had to shout to talk to one another, and any brave raptor that tried to fly was whisked out of sight in a few seconds. Here are the highlights of some of our stops:

Rowland Lake: Turkey Vultures (common all day in the Gorge), Osprey, Vaux's Swift.

Catherine Creek preserve; definitely the most productive site of the day: Western Meadowlark (very common at several stops), Yellow-rumped Warbler (they were everywhere), both subspecies, Caliope Hummingbirds (at least six, probably a few more, all males; beautiful birds that make the trip to the refuge worthwhile just to see so many of them), Lesser Goldfinch, Western Bluebird, Western Wood Peewee, Raven, Warbling Vireo, Cassin'sVireo, Chipping Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Lewis' Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, A. Kestrel, House Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Lazuli Bunting, Mourning Dove, Spotted Towhee, as well as some of the more ubiquitous Washington species. Vaux's Swifts were quite common and very vocal here as well. Dave discovered a Western Rattlesnake about the same time that it discovered him. This was less than five minutes after he told me that he had never seen a rattler in all of the years that he's been h!
iking.
It was at least 3 feet long. We took some photos and then left its own devices.

Balch Road, including the cemetery and nearby pond: W. Scrub Jay, Western Kingbird, American Goldfinch, Pileated Woodpecker, Wood Duck, and Black-headed Grosbeak. In addition, we saw perhaps 20 or more Western Pond Turtles in the pond near the cemetery, including eleven on one log. This was a really special sight considering how rare they have become in the state.

Horse Thief Butte: 3 nearly fledged Rock Wren, with an adult still actively feeding them. This time, Dave nearly stepped on a large, Yellow-bellied Racer. I have probably caught over a hundred snakes over the years, but this was the most aggressive one that I had ever encountered. While Dave was trying to get a photo, it lunged at us several times and almost went up his pants leg, which would have been interesting. After a few pictures, we left him alone.

Other locations such as Lyle County Park and Columbia Hills NRA were very quiet, probably due to the strong wind. Miscellaneus birds at these locations include Bald Eagle and Northern Harrier. While driving on Dalles Mountain Road, we got a brief look at a large, pale raptor battling the wind. By the time that we pulled over and got a clear look at it, it was just about to vanish behind a hill. We think that it was a light morph Ferruginous Hawk, but couldn't be certain without a clearer look at it.

Next Saturday, Black Hills Audubon will be going on a field trip to most of the same locations. There are still 6 openings. If anyone is interested in joining us, please send me an e-mail for the meeting time and place.

Good birding,

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net