OKANOGAN RIVER MOUTH NORTH TO OSOYOOS

13-14 MARCH 2010



Ellen and I hit Okanogan County starting at Bridgeport State Park The
highlight there were 100 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS snipping buds of introduced
locust trees and flycatching, though the temperature was only 42 0 F, from
the tops of these trees.



Wanting to explore the shrub-steppe, we headed north of the park a couple
miles on Jack wells Road. The first ravine from the bottom of La Grande Road
looked inviting so we took a hike. We noted the shrub component here was (in
descending order of cover) big sagebrush, Bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, threetip
sagebrush, and purple sage" here. Western Meadowlark was the only bird we
noted here in the shrub-steppe. Red-tailed Hawks and Common Ravens were in
the sky. This slope certainly invites another hike later in the breeding
season to see what other sage species might be about.



Our next site was Washburn Island near the mouth of the Okanogan River. We
walked a two-mile "perimeter loop, encountering planted hedgerows, planted
crops (for waterfowl), embayments, marsh, and open waters of Lake Pateros.
Here we were hoping for sparrows. Ellen spotted one LINCOLN'S SPARROW;
otherwise saw Dark-eyed Juncos were everywhere but we saw no other sparrows
except Songs. We scoped lots of waterfowl (Canada and Cackling Geese,
Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, Gadwall, American Wigeon,
Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Common
Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, and Ruddy Duck), Common Loons,
Horned Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, and Herring Gulls.

There was one singing Marsh Wren in the cattails and the brushy growth had
many dark-eyed Juncos and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, N. Flickers, and one
Downy Woodpecker. Raptors included Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, and
Bald Eagles. Killdeer were calling from the plowed fields. All in all, we
enjoyed this walk!



We climbed the Cameron Lake Road for late afternoon, hoping to spot a Snowy
Owl atop one of the many glacial erratics. Several white rocks nearly
tricked us. We thrilled at watching a flock of about 50 SANDHILL CRANES flap
and bugle their way over emerald-green wheatfields.



Dawn on the 14th we hit Wauconda east of Tonasket for some owling. A
one-hour stint here beginning an hour before sunrise yielded one each of
Great Horned, Northern Pygmy-, and Northern Saw-whet Owls.



On the Mt. Anne Road just west of Wauconda, we took a a short walk uphill
from near the Okanogan National Forest entrance sign. The forest was pretty
quiet. Notable were three WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, all drumming and calling.
The forest here was composed of Douglas-fir, western larch, and Engelmann
spruce. Brown Creepers called here, too. We found another Willys in
aspen/Douglas-fir forest a mile east at Wauconda.



At Beaver Lake Campground, fog lingered into late morning, fooling the owls.
We heard a Barred Owl and two Northern Pygmy-Owls calling. Pileated
Woodpecker called from the old-growth Engelmann spruce and Douglas-fir
forest here. From the moss and brush-grown side slopes, we spotted a Winter
Wren, another sign of spring.



For the third time this winter we found the Sitzmark Ski Area (corner of
Hungry Hollow and Havillah Roads) good for five or six WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS.



As we drove along Mary Ann Creek northwest of Chesaw, we noted a loose flock
of 75 or so COMMON REDPOLLS, flying north along the drainage. Other winter
birds included several Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Shrikes. However,
though there was still snow mantling much of the higher parts of the
grasslands in the Okanogan Highlands, we did not see any Snow Buntings. They
were present on my last visit here 2-3 March.



We ended our trip with a scan of Osoyoos Lake. A stiff southerly breeze
probably kept many waterbirds out of sight. We managed a few Canada Geese,
Common Goldeneyes, and Common Mergansers on the lake. A Townsend's Solitaire
perched nicely near some junipers.



Andy and Ellen Stepniewski

Wapato WA

steppie at nwinfo.net