Subject: [Tweeters] WHITE-FACED IBIS WEST OF TOPPENISH - 24 MAY
Date: May 24 22:14:47 2008
From: Andy Stepniewski - steppie at nwinfo.net


WHITE FACED IBIS WEST OF TOPPENISH
24 MAY 2008

We spent the day in the Lower Yakima Valley on a route beginning at the
Grandview Sewage Treatment Plant, then straight to Pom Pom Road south of
White Swan for migrant songbirds, then east towards the Toppenish NWR area,
ending on Toppenish Ridge.

Grandview STP had a modest six species of shorebirds. Most notable were five
Wilson's and 45 Red-necked Phalaropes. Numbers of Black-necked Stilts and
American Avocets were lower than on our previous visits this spring.

Pom Pom Road area, a veritable jungle of riparian vegetation, had loads of
Yellow-breasted Chats, the most I've ever tallied in one day in eastern
Washington. We noted lots of other spring birds like Black-headed Grosbeaks,
Lazuli Buntings, and Bullock's Orioles in this area too.

We poked along the Signal Peak Road and came to the Mill Creek Guard
Station. The guard gave us permission to walk the pine woods around the
station but not to venture farther up into the closed area of the Yakama
Indian Reservation. We found lots to see in the forest and Camas meadows
there. Most interesting was a pair of PURPLE FINCHES in "lush " Ponderosa
Pine habitat much like Conboy NWR where Purple Finches seem to prevail and
Cassin's are scarce or absent. Cassin's Finches were also about. We also
found a Dusky Flycatcher nest in a pine branch amid a lush brushy patch in
the forest 100 yards north of the guard station on a dirt track. Nashville,
Yellow-rumped, and MacGillivray's Warblers were also on territory. We noted
another pair of Purple Finches in the oak belt part way down to White Swan.

Heading east along Marion Drain Road, we were thrilled to spot seven
WHITE-FACED IBIS in a flooded field at Island Road, the first for both Ellen
and I ever in Yakima County. Afternoon lighting was super for photography
too!

We noted one BOBOLINK on the west side of Lateral C 0.5 mile north of Marion
Drain Road.

After the ibis, we were ready for a Willet or two (which are being reported
seemingly every day in eastern Washington or so it appears), so we checked
the flooded pastures just east of Old Goldendale Road that held Long-billed
Curlews and Bald Eagles. No Willets, I guess we were getting greedy.

All along the Toppenish Creek bottomlands, water levels are still very high
with snowmelt still pouring down Toppenish Creek from the Cascades. The
water was clear today as opposed to the roiling and muddy flood of the last
couple weeks.

Toppenish Ridge produced shrub-steppe species including Horned Lark, Vesper,
Lark, Sage, and once again GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS. Rimrock near the ridge had
both Rock and Canyon Wrens, and Violet-green Swallows.

Species noted:

Canada Goose - 15
Mallard - 50
Blue-winged Teal - 10
Cinnamon Teal - 25
Northern Shoveler - 35
American Wigeon - 1
Gadwall - 15
Redhead - 10
Ring-necked Duck - 1
Lesser Scaup - 3
Ruddy Duck - 20
Ring-necked Pheasant - 5
California Quail - 20
Pied-billed Grebe -3
Great Blue Heron - 5
Great Egret - 1
WHITE-FACED IBIS - 7
Turkey Vulture - 10
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Harrier - 5
Red-tailed Hawk - 8
American Kestrel - 2
Virginia Rail - 2
Sora - 2
American Coot - 20
Killdeer - 15
Black-necked Stilt - 15
American Avocet - 1
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Long-billed Curlew - 2
Wilson's Phalarope - 12
Red-necked Phalarope - 45
Wilson's Snipe - 5
Rock Pigeon - 15
Mourning Dove - 25
Vaux's Swift - 1
Black-chinned Hummingbird - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Lewis's Woodpecker - 2
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 4
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1
Western Wood Pewee - 20
Dusky Flycatcher - 4
Gray Flycatcher - 3
Say's Phoebe - 1
Ash-throated Flycatcher - 2
Western Kingbird - 10
Cassin's Vireo - 2
Warbling Vireo - 3
Horned Lark - 5
Tree Swallow - 5
Violet-green Swallow - 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 10
Bank Swallow - 300
Cliff Swallow - 200
Barn Swallow - 35
Steller's Jay - 1
Black-billed Magpie - 10
American Crow - 10
Common Raven - 5
Black-capped Chickadee - 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2
White-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Rock Wren - 4
Canyon Wren - 3
House Wren - 30
Marsh Wren - 5
American Robin - 25
Cedar Waxwing - 10
European Starling - 150
Nashville Warbler - 2
Yellow Warbler - 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Townsend's Warbler - 2
MacGillivray's Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 10
Wilson's Warbler - 7
Yellow-breasted Chat - 20
Western Tanager - 3
Black-headed Grosbeak - 25
Lazuli Bunting - 25
Spotted Towhee - 10
Chipping Sparrow - 10
Vesper Sparrow - 10
Lark Sparrow - 3
Sage Sparrow - 3
Savannah Sparrow - 10
Grasshopper Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow - 15
BOBOLINK - 2
Red-winged Blackbird - 50
Western Meadowlark - 15
Yellow-headed Blackbird - 10
Brewer's Blackbird - 30
Brown-headed Cowbird - 25
Bullock's Oriole - 15
PURPLE FINCH - 4
Cassin's Finch - 3
House Finch - 10
Pine Siskin - 10
American Goldfinch - 10
House Sparrow - 25

Andy and Ellen Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net