Subject: [Tweeters] Umtanum Road and Wenas Campground
Date: Apr 15 23:03:43 2009
From: Marvin S. Hoekstra - marvin.hoekstra at verizon.net


Tweeters,



This morning I headed out Umtanum Road from Ellensburg.



9:30-10:30 AM



In the sage (after the initial curvy uphill part of the road) I heard Sage
Thrashers calling. I stopped and took a look and a photo of this life bird.
The one I photographed had a spotted breast rather than the streaks shown in
Sibley. On a power line I photographed an immature Loggerhead Shrike.
This was unmistakeable, as it had the pale dark grey eye patch shown in
Sibley as well as the hooked shrike beak. Still I thought it an unusual
sighting.



The Western Bluebirds are also present on Umtanum road, although they are
not as closely associated with the nest boxes as they were last year, when I
saw them in late spring. A male/female pair of American Kestrels and a
single California Quail were seen. I also had a Cooper's Hawk on a fence.
This was judged by size, since his departing flight did not allow a view of
his lower tail.



1:00 PM



I hiked into Wenas Campground, because the gate in the road a mile short of
the camp was closed. My intent was to look for a White-headed Woodpecker
near the spot having the nest last year. I found the spot, but there was no
activity. I heard what could have been the call of this bird and saw a
flyaway, but the sun obscured my view. The call of the White-headed
Woodpecker is not distinctive to me, and could perhaps be confused with
other birds. While observing the nest tree, I heard a call that sounds to
me like a cross between a Blue Jay and a cat. This I recognized as a
Red-naped Sapsucker. I moved up the hill and saw the bird on a sparsely
vegetated Ponderosa Pine trunk. This made unobscured photos of the bird and
his sap wells quite easy. He was tapping to enlarge some wells and was
sipping the nectar. This was another life bird for the day.



Steller's Jay and multiple Varied Thrushes were present in the campground,
as well as Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Northern Flicker. The red head
patch on several of the kinglets was quite visible. On one the red feathers
actually stood up a bit; it almost seemed the bird was able to raise them
intentionally, but it may have been the breeze that did it.


Two life birds on a beautiful sunny day.



Marvin S. Hoekstra

Sammamish, WA

marvin dot hoekstra at verizon dot net