Subject: [Tweeters] birding southern Klickitat County
Date: May 13 09:29:55 2007
From: wheelermombi at comcast.net - wheelermombi at comcast.net


Good morning Tweeters,

Yesterday (Saturday), 10 of us from the Black Hills Audubon chapter spent the day birding southern Klickitat County. The weather alternated between blustery and calm (climatological good cop/bad cop routine), but the rain held off until late afternoon, when we were winding down. We saw numerous Red-tailed Hawks, Ospreys, and Turkey Vultures on the way down, and the Great Egrets were still visible in the wetlands on the east side of I-5 near the 32 mile post by Kalama. Here is a summary of some of the Klickitat species that we saw and/or heard:

Rowland Lake: Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Vaux's Swift, Tree and Violet-green Swallow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Spotted Towhee, W.Scrub Jay, C. Raven, A. Crow.

Catherine Creek Preserve: We spent the majority of the day here. It was initially overcast and breezy and not very birdy, but the wind eventually died down, the sun came out, and so did the birds. The species make-up and numbers was in some respects quite in contrast to that of just 6 days earlier. For example, Yellow-rumped Warblers were everywhere last weekend, and this weekend we probably saw less than 6.
The species include: W. Bluebird, W. Meadowlark, Great Blue Heron, Barn and Cliff Swallow, Vaux's Swift, Brewer's Blackbird, Northern Flicker, Lewis' Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, W. Kingbird, W. Wood Peewee, Calliope Hummingbird (the males were putting on great displays and this time a few females were in the area) Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, European Starling, Western Tanager, Lazuli Bunting (very common up valley and the males were in plain view and singing away), Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Cooper's Hawk, Mourning Dove, Canyon Wren (heard calling near the stone arch), House Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, A. Robin.
In addition,we also spotted: Gopher Snake, Souther Alligator Lizard, Western Fence Lizard, and Pacific Tree Frog.

Lyle-Balch Cemetery: Lark Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch. A Loggerhead Shrike was also spotted on a fence off of Balch Road.

Pond just past the cemetery: several Western Pond Turtles basking, Mallard, Wood Duck

Fellow birder Karl's house in Lyle: Karl has a bird paradise in his back yard. There was an impossible number of species represented giving amazing close-up views. Particulalry exciting were the extreme close-ups of 3 species of hummers, represented by both males and females. Some of the species that we saw were: Calliope, Rufous, and Anna's Hummingbirds. It was especially nice to have such clear views of the females to be able to work on our IDs. Also, Lesser Goldfinch, California Quail, Brown-headed Blackbird, and House Sparrow. Thanks Karl, that was really magical!

A quick, very windy and wet stop at Horse Thief Butte: Say's Phoebe, Ring-billed Gull. The Rock Wrens were not in view this time, but could probably still be found there without a howling wind to cover up their vocalizations.

In all, we recorded just under 60 species, a few of which were lifers for some of the group, and many species that us West Siders do not get to see very often. We were apparently a bit too early for the Ash-throated Flycatchers, which should start showing up in a week or two. The weather is still cool and the spring growth is still a vibrant green. This is probably one of my favorite birding locations during one of my favorite birding times of the year. And this is only from having explored a small portion of the potential birding sites in the remainder of Klickitat County and nearby locations.

Good birding,

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net