Hello All,

As in years past this field trip started out at Hood Park along the Snake River. We had 14 birders show up that proved to be yet another outstanding, enjoyable, fun group to spend a day owling/birding with. We first headed south through McNary NWR where we located 4000 Snow Geese, 35 Greater White Fronted Geese, 7000+ Canada Geese of one race or another. We then looked at a large flock of blackbirds and saw 600+ Brewers Blackbirds, 7 Yellow-headed Blackbirds. We also located two Barn Owls in this area. Then onto the poop piles where we saw 2 Mew Gulls, 6 Glaucous-winged Gulls, 4 Herring Gulls and 50+ ring-billed gulls, along with several sub adult Bald Eagles. Then off to Two Rivers HMU where we spotted three Red-Brested Mergansers and many Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks and Western Grebes along with a Redhead and Horned Grebes. Other high lights of this day are as follows.

Total Owl numbers

Barn Owls..............................4 birds
Great Horned Owl.................8 birds
Long-eared Owls..................4 birds
Northern Saw-whet Owls......3 birds
Total......................................19 birds

Other species of interest:

Ferruginous Hawk...............1 ad. wintering bird,
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch..5 birds
Orange crowned Warbler...1 ad.
Varied Thrush......................1 ad.
Violet-green Swallow..........1 ad. early arrival date

For full write-up with photos see the WOS web site under field trips this coming week.

Thank-you to all that supported this WOS Owls by Day trip.
Later Mike and MerryLynn Denny

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Mike & MerryLynn Denny
Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley

"If you haven't birded, you haven't lived"