Today Oct. 16 Tom Mansfield and I had a great day of birding starting at The Ridgefield NWR where we saw the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, many Pectoral Sandpipers, lots of Long-billed Dowitchers and 1 Red-shouldered Hawk. On our way to Skamania County we drove down Blair Rd. in Washougal and found 4 Eurasian Collared-Doves.



At Kidney Lake near Bonneville Dam a tan striped White-throated Sparrow popped up. Not far away a flock of Evening Grosbeaks flew over. At the fish Hatchery on Hamilton Island was 1 Western Gull.



We stopped for lunch near Stevenson where there usually is Greater White-fronted Geese, but not today. Instead there was 1 imm. Snow Goose and 1 Cackling Goose. At the Wind River mouth there were 6 Horned Grebes and 1 Common Loon. At Spring Creek Fish Hatchery there were lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers.



Underwood was pretty quiet. We did see California Quail in the residential area. On the Underwood-Cook Rd. we found a female Western Bluebird near where they had been during nesting season. Seems pretty late to me. North of Willard a Merlin shot overhead.



On the way back west we tried for E. Collared-Doves in Stevenson, but we could not find any. Skamania Co. is the only county without any records of these doves. Anyone finding them please let me know.



Not a bad day with sunshine and rainless as we both expected a down pour.



Ken Knittle
Vancouver WA 98665
mailto:washingtonbirder at hotmail.com
Washington Birder online
http://www.wabirder.com/