Hello All,
Sorry for the late report. On Saturday afternoon Ryan Shaw and I drove over to do the Omak Creek Breeding Bird Survey route (starting 5 miles north of Nespelem and continuing 24.5 miles to the Moses Meadows area), which I also did in 2007. We paused just out of Nespelem We camped up a dirt road near the start of the route, a couple miles off Hwy 155. The habitat in the area looked great for owls, and we were rewarded with incredible views and photos of Flammulated Owls interacting around an apparent nest snag. At 0300hrs Sunday morning, I was awoken to a persistently calling Great Gray Owl. I woke Ryan up and we listened to two birds calling until we had to get up to start the surveys at 3:45am. Flushing a poorwill en route, we started promptly at 4:25 and were finished with the 50 stops by 8:35am.

We ended up with exactly the same number of species as last time, 82, but many more individuals (1089 vs. 847). The Dusky Flycatcher was found on the most points, 33/50, with 85 individuals. Red Crossbill was the most numerous bird, with 96 counted in all, including type 2 (Ponderosa) and type 4 (Douglas-fir) crossbills.

The most unusual difference from 2007 was the diversity of woodpeckers: we had 8 species where last time I had only 5. Two White-headed, a Black-backed, a Williamson's Sapsucker added to this total.

Other random notes: The pond area at stop #5 supports great numbers of nesting Ruddy, Wood, and Ring-necked Ducks, Cinnamon Teal, an American Wigeon, Hooded Mergansers, and Virginia Rails and Soras. Gray Flycatchers and Brewer's Sparrows were found again in Moses Meadows. Three Black-chinned Hummingbirds were coming to a feeder at stop #30.

After the count, we birded in the Lyman Lake area, where we found a great pair of White-headed Woodpeckers at a nest on the side of the road (incubating). We then headed up to Aeneas Valley, with Northern Waterthrush calling on the way. Bobolinks were very active and visible in the hayfields along Aeneas Valley Road. We then drove back through Moses Meadows, seeing a mother Moose and her very young calf in the road.

As we drove back, we stopped for gas near Grand Coulee and happened to see a Juniper Hairstreak land on my windshield. This turned out to be a first county record, quite a ways from any known location.

Cheers
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington