I left early on this past Friday and birded my way to Spokane. On Saturday, I took part in the WOS fieldtrip led by Doug Schonewald out of Moses Lake. Today, I drove home after spending the night in Ellensburg and came back via Highway 12 over White Pass. The fieldtrip on Saturday was great and I picked up four life birds. Thanks Doug! Here's my highlights:

Friday, November 2nd:

In Ellensburg, in a small pond near the intersection of Canyon Road and Tjossem Road, there was an adult Snow Goose with a small flock of Canada Geese.

In Vantage, I found my first Northern Shrike of the season on the Recreation Road that leads down to the water just west of the interpretive center. Two Rock Wrens were very active on the rock cliffs here. Also, I found two Townsend's Solitaires in a tree next to the river. From the Vantage boat launch, I spotted a female Surf Scoter swimming in the water near the I-90 bridge.

Saturday, November 3rd:

Doug mentioned all the highlights except for the weird goose we saw amidst the thousands of Cackling Geese at Brook Lake in Grant county. This goose had a completely white neck from its chest upwards to its head. On the white head, there were dark smudges on the cheeks closer to the back of the head and a dark forehead that led down into the dark bill. The body matched the same coloration of a Cackling Goose. Unfortunately, it was too far for a picture. Perhaps some weird domestic hybrid? I'm looking for suggestions.

Sunday, November 4th:

Near the end of Goodrich Road (northwest of Centralia), I found a small flock of Mew Gulls in the fields. Also, as previously mentioned by Dave Hayden there was a sizable flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, and Starlings present. I watched a Red-tailed Hawk put them in the air once. Then they lifted off again (reminded me of shorebirds) when an immature Peregrine Falcon came out of stoop and tried to make a kill. The Peregrine then moved off and made another attempted strike then finally perched in a dead tree at the end of Wagner Road.

Tim O'Brien
Elma, WA
mailto: kertim7179 at yahoo dot com


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