SHRUB-STEPPE CLASS - OLD VANTAGE HIGHWAY TO OTHELLO
26 APRIL 2008

Ellen and I led a class sponsored by the Seattle Audubon Society fieldtrip
to the western Columbia Basin. Our objectives were to introduce folks
to shrub-steppe plant and bird communities. Though spring has
been tardy in arriving, the weather forecast for the day was for sunny and
warm conditions, finally.

Our first stop was on the Old Vantage Highway east of Kittitas. Here, the
"Big Sagebrush/Bluebunch Wheatgrass" community meets the rocky, thin-soiled
"Lithosol community." With effort, we had reasonable views of Sage
Thrashers, and Brewer's Sparrows. Our looks at Loggerhead Shrike were more
distant. Mountain Bluebirds posed beautifully by their nest boxes. Sage
Sparrows were nearby but did not pose nicely. Migrant White-crowned Sparrows
and brilliantly attired Yellow-rumped Warblers were both abundant. A Horned
Lark posed atop a lithosol sagebrush briefly. Because spring has been so
cold, the shrub-steppe wildflower show was muted. Sagebrush Violets and
Buttercups were out in bloom as was Canby's Biscuitroot. The very first
Hooker's Balsamroot were just beginning to bloom.

Continuing down the Old Vantage Highway, we peered into the basalt crevices
at eye level, a spot we sometimes see Great Horned Owls; but not today. A
Rock Wren stole the show here. A Vesper Sparrow sang from the
bunchgrass-mantled hillsides. At the Quilomene Wildlife Area, with another
bit of effort, all had good looks at Sage Sparrow, a smartly attired denizen
of the more open shrub-steppe, a habitat with less in the way of perennial
grasses than preferred by Sage Thrasher and Brewer's Sparrows. A Short
Horned Lizard was another attraction here.

Down to the Columbia River at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, the day
was warming nicely. Trees at the interpretive museum were alive with
warblers: mostly Yellow-rumps, a few Orange-crowns, and one or two
Nashville's.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets were everywhere. Say's Phoebe and Western Kingbirds
were other migrants we saw. Wanapum Lake had a few Common Loons, Horned
Grebes, a raft of Greater Scaup, and several Caspian Terns.

South of Vantage we headed along Huntzinger Road. We watched distant
White-throated Swifts rocket by, as well Violet-green and Cliff Swallows.
The "Cliff and Talus community" at Sentinel Gap, which are usually a good
bet for Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, Chukar, and Rock and Canyon Wrens,
were a total bust for those species! Seldom do we strike out on all five of
these cliff and talus dwellers. A pair of falcons flew at cliff top levels;
we identified these as Peregrines. Wow, this species is certainly increasing
in these parts! Below us, on islands in the Columbia we had good looks at
American White Pelicans. Wildflowers such as Arrow-leaved Balsamroot and
Showy Phlox were out in full bloom, beautiful indeed.

Across the Columbia River south, we headed east along Crab Creek, making a
few stops to study the "Greasewood and Saltgrass" community. Songbirds were
in short supply but two Golden Eagles, one an adult, the other a
"ring-tailed" immature, soared beautifully against the stupendous Saddle
Mountain cliffs. A hidden Canyon Wren sang its beautiful chant from the
cliffs. Farther on, we had good views of a dark phase Swainson's Hawk.

Our final stop was along SR-26 at the "County Line Ponds," at the
Grant/Adams County line. These saline ponds fill an alkaline depression and
were full of birds. Showy shorebirds were the star attraction here including
lots of Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Wilson's Phalarope, and
Dunlins wading in the shallows. Both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and
Least Sandpiper, were on hand too. A lone Long-billed Curlew posed atop a
distant rim rock gave us beautiful scope views. Waterfowl were much fewer
than usual for this trip but included some typical Columbia Basin species:
Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, and Redhead.

This is the usual ending point of this trip but half the group elected to
press on with an "extension," the main target being Grasshopper Sparrow. We
stopped at a couple of areas of grassland in Columbia NWR where we've had
this furtive sparrow in late April in the past without any luck, but a
LONG-TAILED DUCK on North Teal Lake was plenty of compensation. According to
Columbia NWR manager Randy Hill, this was the second spring record of this
duck on the refuge. Close views of young Great Horned Owls across a canal on
the refuge was another bonus.

Species list. Upper case denotes species characteristic of shrub-steppe or
Columbia Basin, or, simply, "cool species" on our trip.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Am. Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
LONG-TAILED DUCK
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
California Quail
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe
Am. White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Osprey
Northern Harrier
SWAINSON'S HAWK
Red-tailed Hawk
GOLDEN EAGLE
American Kestrel
PEREGRINE FALCON
American Coot
Killdeer
BLACK-NECKED STILT
AMERICAN AVOCET
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
LONG-BILLED CURLEW
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
Wilson's Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
GREAT HORNED OWL
WHITE-THROATED SWIFT
Northern Flicker
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
ROCK WREN
CANYON WREN
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
SAGE THRASHER
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
Spotted Towhee
BREWER'S SPARROW
VESPER SPARROW
SAGE SPARROW
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
WESTERN MEADOWLARK
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow


Andy and Ellen Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net