Subject: [Tweeters] NE Wash birding looooong
Date: Aug 28 00:14:08 2010
From: Marv Breece - mbreece at earthlink.net


I camped and birded in NE Washington from 8/15 until 8/23. Birded in Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties. The purpose of the trip was to see some higher elevation birds and perhaps catch a shorebird or 2 in the process. Here are a few highlights:

8/16/10

First stop was Sherman Pass Campground (Ferry Co.). The following birds were seen there & along nearby trails

Pine Grosbeak
Clark's Nutcracker
Gray Jay
Ruffed Grouse - 2 (I was expecting/hoping for Spruce Grouse)
Three-toed Woodpecker - 6

Then on to the Mt Salmo area (Pend Oreille Co.)

Say's Phoebe - 1 at the very summit: 6888 feet
Pine Grosbeak - several

8/17/10

Mt Salmo area (Pend Oreille co)

Fox Sparrow (slate)
Pine Grosbeak
Spruce Grouse -1 female along the trail
Dark-eyed Junco - one looked very much like a female slate
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Clark's Nutcracker

Spruce Grouse - 1 male 2.6 miles along road from Sullivan Lake towards Pass Creek Pass (PO Co.)

8/18/10

Bunchgrass Meadows (Pend Oreille Co)

Boreal Chickadee
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 juv that dove on me and repeatedly perched very close by
Spruce Grouse - another male along the very rough trail that used to be a road to the meadows
Moose - 1 bull and 1 cow

8/19/10

Three-toed Woodpecker - 3 at Bunchgrass Meadows

>From Bunchgrass Meadows I headed to Flying Goose Ranch. There I met Jon Isacoff. He suggested that we visit the Colville STP for shorebirds, so off we went.

Flying Goose Ranch & Riverbend (Pend Oreille co)

Solitary Sandpiper - 1
Wilson's Snipe - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs -1

Colville STP (Stevens co.)

Stilt Sandpiper - 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 2
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope - 1 juv
Solitary Sandpiper - 2
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs - 4
Killdeer
Red-necked Phalarope - 4
Long-billed Dowitcher - 1
Wilson's Snipe

The shorebirding was so good that I decided to take a room nearby and try the Colville STP once more the next morning.

8/20/10

I was at the Colville STP when it opened at 8AM. Shortly afterward, Warren Current (sp?) joined me. Pretty soon, he spotted a juv Semipalmated Plover. Except for the phalaropes, the rest of the shorebird species were about the same as the day before.

Warren left and as I was leaving, Terry Little arrived. I joined him for some birding and at the southern portion of the Kettle Campground we observed the following:

Willet - 2 (a county first for Stevens, I believe)
Baird's Sandpiper - 5
Least Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Killdeer
Long-billed Dowitcher - 2
Spotted Sandpiper

Later, I birded the Valley STP and saw:

Least Sandpiper
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1

8/21/10

Next stop: Togo Mountain (Ferry County)

Northern Goshawk - 3 sightings of 2 or 3 birds; all juv
Dusky Grouse - 1 male

8/22/10

Togo Mtn (Ferry co)

Boreal Chickadee - 2 seen
Red Crossbill
Black Bear - 1 crossed the road in front of me & then stopped for a photo

Pierre Lake Road; a series of puddles along the Kettle River 1.3M south of Gallagher/Barrett Rd (Stevens co)

Least Sandpiper - 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper - 3
Wilson's Snipe
Lesser Yellowlegs - 1
Spotted Sandpiper

Also at this location was a female Brewer's Blackbird with white outer primaries on the left wing.

Haag Campground (Ferry co)

Least Sandpiper - 4
Baird's Sandpiper - 4

Barnaby CG (Ferry co)

Least Sandpiper - 3
Western Sandpiper - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 2
Spotted Sandpiper - 5

8/23/10

Twin Lakes (Ferry co)

Least Sandpiper - 3 on vegetation in the channel between the 2 lakes


Soap Lake (Grant County)

Baird's Sandpiper - 3 at north end
Least Sandpiper - 5 at south end
Western Sandpiper - 1 at south end
Red-necked Phalarope - 132 at south end

Thanks to Jon, Terry and Warren for their help with shorebirds and the good company. It was a great trip.

I've uploaded a few images from the trip. Link is below. Still in process; hope to finish very soon.

http://www.pbase.com/marvbreece/new_images_of_washington_birds


Marv Breece
Seattle, WA
mbreece at earthlink.net