Hi Tweets:
VANTAGE: I'd like to clarify my msg. below: When I say "At the bottom in
the raparian area" I meant the woods down at the river. There were also 3
MacGillivray's Warblers there around the bottom of the cliffs to the north
of the spot where the road enters the water.
Up the old road about 1/2 mile, at the ravine below the Russian Olive tree
where we saw the Ash-throated Flycatcher; there was a lot of green growth,
and we were hearing warbler bird song down there. It may have been
Yel-rumped and Yellow Warb song. I understand the rough road/trail that
goes north, also has riparian areas. It is very green over in that area.
CLE ELEM: We had a rather quiet day yesterday in our usual haunts near Cle
Elem. We only saw the sun for a max of 1 minute all day, and got rained and
drizzled-on frequently. The RR ponds at Cle Elem were very quiet. We
stopped at the visitor's bathrooms at the fish hatchery (they are very
nice). The "guest manager" at the RV near the bathrooms has bird feeders
up. He had several hummers coming into his feeder, all Rufous. He said he
also gets Caliope Hummingbird but we did not see one. There are lots of
Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches there. I believe the hours there are
about 10am to 5 pm, and you can enter when at least 1/2 of the gate is open.
They maintain this visitor's center for the folks visiting the fish
hatchery, and for the general public. If the gate out at the RR ponds is
closed, it will be locked and you cannot enter. McDonald Pond accessed from
S Cle Elem was devoid of birds (we were hoping for Cinn. Teal or something).
ELK HEIGHTS: We did have a good time sorting thru baby birds at the north
side of the Elk Hgts burn. There were Purple Finches, Cassin's Finches, and
baby W Bluebirds to sort out. We were only there for a short time, and did
not see any Black-backed Woodpeckers. It was breezy, but at least it was
not raining (for a change) as we headed back home.
Yours, Carol Schulz, Des Moines, linusq at att.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lynn Schulz" <linusq at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 10:53 PM
Subject: Ash-throated Flycatcher-Vantage


> We first heard and then saw a bright Ash-throated Flycatcher on the old
> Vantage Highway Sat, May 19 in the afternoon. We took the small side road
> at the bottom that is about 1 mile long and eventually disappears into the
> water. Just a short distance below the west junction to this "recreation"
> road, a small rough road/trail takes off to the north. There is a Russian
> Olive tree there on the north side of the road. The Ash-throated was
> calling loudly from the bank behind the olive tree. Then it flew across
> the road and down into the ravine. At the bottom in the riparian area
> there was a Bullock's Oriole, and about 10 Western Tanagers.
> Carol Schulz, Des Moines, linusq at att.net