Hello Tweeters,
Yesterday, I joined the Seattle Audubon BirdWatch group on a trip to
Kittitas Co. including Vantage and surrounding locations. On the journey
home we visited Taneum Canyon and made a quick stop at Stampede Pass. It was
a really nice day of birding with wonderful weather, being quite warm at
times and without rain. The wind only picked up near the end of the trip
making passerine birding at Taneum pretty slow. For the day we saw 71
species, with highlights including:

American White Pelican - Two floating just south of Wanapum Dam.

Western Kingbird - Along Huntzinger Road.

Semipalmated Plover - One bird seen on the beach at Wanapum State Park.

White-throated Swift - Several were moving along the cliff with a flock of
Vaux's Swifts and swallows at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park.

Dusky Flycatcher - Two 'whitting' in the trees and flying about at Ginkgo.
Short primary projection, long tail.

Warbling Vireo - One seen in a cottonwood at Ginkgo.

Brewer's Sparrow - At several locations including Wanapum, Ginkgo, and along
Vantage Hwy.

Sage Sparrow - About 5 (many singing) at the usual spots along Vantage Hwy
in the Quilomene Wildlife Area (QWA).

Horned Lark - Performing song flight at QWA.

Swainson's Hawk - Best seen traveling westward over QWA

Sage Thrasher - Singing away at same spot as the three species above.

Golden Eagle - One adult with corvid entourage on the south side of Vantage
Hwy.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - A light morph, with completely black belly, dark carpal
patches, and no dark patagial marks. The bird soared over QWA for most of
our visit there.

Yellow-headed Blackbird - Many splendid males along Parke Creek Road.

Cassin's Finch - Present but not the most cooperative in Taneum Canyon.

BROAD-WINGED HAWK - An adult light morph was soaring over a rocky outcrop
about 2.5 miles down W Taneum Road. It was visible for a few minutes before
the hawk drifted eastward and out of sight over the ridge. The bird was a
medium-small raptor that showed small white tips to the tail feathers,
followed by a black band, then one large white band with a second smaller
one barely visible mostly concealed by the undertail coverts. Its clean
white throat was readily apparent. It had short, broad, yet slightly pointed
wings not showing pale crescent shaped windows on the primaries. Its flight
feathers were also less barred from underneath than Red-shouldered Hawk.

Nashville Warbler - Singing sweetly from the riparian areas in Taneum
Canyon.

Varied Thrush - Males and females along the road to Crystal Springs
Campground at Stampede pass.

Good birding,

Tayler Brooks
Brier, WA
greenjaytay at comcast.net
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