Subject: [Tweeters]
Date: Nov 14 08:45:29 2010
From: washingtonbirder.Ken Knittle - washingtonbirder at hotmail.com





Friday, Tom Mansfield and I birded Skamania County later joined by Wilson Cady. We began on Marbled Road where Barn Owl and several Wilson?s Snipe were heard. Tundra Swans were on Franz Lake and Wood Ducks were at Skamania Landing. Hamilton Island produced Western Meadowlarks, which can be a tough bird to find in Skamania County. Below Bonneville Dam were hoards of Common Mergansers, California Gulls, 1 Western Gull, and a few Bonaparte?s Gulls, while above the dam were Western Grebes and Barrow?s Goldeneyes. No luck on relocating the Black Scoter that Susan and Wilson Cady had found the day before. At the fairgrounds in Stevenson we searched for the Clay-colored Sparrow without any luck, but did find an Eared Grebe and a fly-over Peregrine Falcon. East of the foot bridge that crosses over Rock Creek into the fairgrounds were lots of sparrows that might be worth checking in the future. A drive up on Ryan-Allen Road at the pond produced both Virginia Rail and Marsh Wren. Drano Lake had several Common Loons feeding and doing a lot of wing-splashing, which seemed odd. A nice size flock of California Quail in Underwood was east as far as we birded.

Saturday before daylight 1 Barn Owl flew over I-5 just north of the weigh-station north of the Ridgefield exit in Clark County. We birded Julia Butler Hansen NWR and also north of the refuge on several back roads. Birds here were Snow Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Wild Turkey, White-tailed Kite and calling Great Horned Owls. At Altoona, which always seems to bring surprises, were Surf and White-winged Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Tundra Swans, Red-breasted Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and a Hairy Woodpecker.

In Pacific County we birded Chinook marina, Chinook Valley Road, and Ilwaco Marina. Birds seen east of Chinook include Common Goldeneye, all three scoters, and hoards of Double-crested Cormorants. At the marina in Chinook was 1 lone Brown Pelican. Along Chinook Valley Road were a small flock of Western Meadowlarks and a Ring-necked Pheasant. Just east of the Ilwaco Marina were a blowing away flock of Bushtits out of habitat, 1 Sabine?s Gull with Bonaparte?s Gulls, and lots of Dunlin. On the way home just west of Chinook were 3 Eurasian Collared-Doves.





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