Good morning Tweeters,

Eight of us went on a Black Hills Audubon Society fieldtrip to Klickitat County on Saturday and Sunday. Everybody contributed to the bird sightings and it was a really enthusiastic, fun group of people. The temperature never made it out of the high 70s, which was amazing for this time of year. Here is a breakdown of the species (in the order in which they were spotted) seen by two or more of the group, minus the more ubiquitous birds; almost all of these locations can be found in Opperman's "A Birder's Guide To Washington":

Saturday:

Rowland Lake: WESTERN TANAGER, OSPREY, CHIPPING SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, RING-BILLED GULL, NORTHERN FLICKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

Catherine Creek Preserve: WESTERN MEADOWLARK, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, TURKEY VULTURE, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, LAZULI BUNTING, CHIPPING SPARROW, SAVANNAH SPARROW, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, PURPLE FINCH, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, VAUX'S SWIFT, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (we saw at least 5 individuals, including 2 juveniles), SWAINSON'S THRUSH, SPOTTED TOWHEE, STELLAR'S JAY, DOWNY WOODPECKER, COMMON RAVEN, WESTERN KINGBIRD, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD. This location continues to be one of my favorite, easily accessible birding areas in the state.

Lyle-Balch Cemetery: LESSER GOLDFINCH, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER (incredible views of 3 adults and 1 juvenile; one of the adults was continually chasing another out of its territory), WESTERN BLUEBIRD, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, CHIPPING SPARROW, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, MOURNING DOVE

Pond just passed the cemetery (we stopped here to see the Western Pond Turtles; at least 9 were out basking): BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, CALIFORNIA QUAIL

Granary Tree (we arrived there at 4:50): 1 ACORN WOODPECKER. It landed on a branch of the granary tree, just above a couple of newly expanded cavities, within a few minutes of our arrival. It stayed in view for more than 5 minutes, and then flew off. This species was a lifer for some, and a state bird for all of us. We could hear at least 1 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER calling from the direction of Balch Rd. I had timed this trip in the hopes of seeing 1 or 2 of these flycatchers, and was quite surprised by how common they seem to be in the area.

Horse Thief Lake State Park: KILLDEER, RING-BILLED GULL, CEDAR WAXWING, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, WESTERN KINGBIRD, CANYON WREN, ROCK WREN. The 2 wren species were seen on the low bluffs on the right, as one initially drives into the park. As we were leaving, we heard a buzz-type call coming from the bluff. We pulled over and took a few minutes to locate the bird that was making the sound. It was a Canyon Wren, perhaps 50' from where we stood, low on the cliff face. Normally, those of us that had seen Canyon Wrens have only done so from a distance, and none of us had ever heard the buzzy call before; it reminded me of a Grasshopper Sparrow. While we we watching it, a Rock Wren began calling from higher up on the bluff, and farther down the road.

Sunday

Horse Thief State Park (again); we returned here for more views of the Canyon Wren and to spot the Rock Wren. We managed wonderful views of both species. We saw at least 5 or 6 ROCK WRENS at various places, always toward the top of the cliff face. We heard at least 4 different types of vocalizations, including a higher pitched alarm call when an AMERICAN KESTREL flew over them. They were very active and vocal. This time, we located 4 CANYON WRENS, again at the bottom of the cliff face. There were 2 adults and 2 juveniles, the latter of which were still begging for food. They we also very vocal (only the buzz call). Although we stayed on the side of the road, they often approached to within 30' of us, allowing great views and photos. Other species seen include BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, HORNED LARK, COMMON RAVEN, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, WESTERN KINGBIRD.

Columbia Hills Natural Area Preserve; not very birdy, but beautiful views: RED-TAILED HAWK, COMMON RAVEN, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, AMERICAN KESTREL, HORNED LARK, WESTERN KINGBIRD.

Hwy 42: N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW (we saw all of the swallows but the Bank Swallow on this trip), BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, BELTED KINGFISHER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, WARBLING VIREO, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, TURKEY VULTURE, YELLOW WARBLER, WESTERN KINGBIRD. We pulled off of the road between mile posts 21 & 22 and saw numerous LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, including 2 pairs feeding young in nest cavities, and AMERICAN KESTREL. The kestrel landed in a tree above one of the woodpeckers, which was resting near its nesting cavity. While the kestrel looked down at it, the woodpecker slowly climbed the tree in its direction. As it neared it, the kestrel lost its nerve and flew off, where it was joined by a second kestrel. The scenery on this road is incredible.

Goldendale-Glenwood Rd.; this road was amazing! We could have continued to pull over and just bird along this road for the whole day: LESSER AND AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, HOUSE AND PURPLE FINCHES, we also had a close-up of 1 female CASSIN'S FINCH, which provided a nice comparison to the Purple Finch females, LARK SPARROW, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, RED CROSSBILL, RED-TAILED HAWK, TURKEY VULTURE, CHIPPING SPARROW, WESTERN and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, RED-BREASTED and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE.

Stinson Flats Campground: CASSIN'S VIREO, VAUX'S SWIFT, SPOTTED TOWHEE, WESTERN TANAGER, CEDAR WAXWING, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD.

Mill Pond, just outside of Glenwood: GREAT BLUE HERON, WOOD DUCK, RING-NECKED DUCK, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, BELTED KINGFISHER, YELLOW WARBLER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

Conboy Lake NWR: HOUSE WREN, GRAY FLYCATCHER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, EASTERN KINGBIRD, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, 3 ADULT SANDHILL CRANES AND 1 JUVENILE, HAIRY WOODPECKER, DARK-EYED JUNCO, CHIPPING SPARROW, CASSIN'S VIREO

Other species from quick stops or while driving: WILLOW FLYCATCHER, BALD EAGLE, CANADA GOOSE, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, and the usual suspects.

In all, we saw 88 species of birds.

Good birding,

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net