Tweets,

The Okanogan Highlands were lousy with birders over the July 4th weekend, which made birding the area fun and almost a social event. My wife Debbie Dain, Jeanelle Richardson and I started birding on Saturday morning at the Northern Pacific Ponds and Cle Elum Fish Hatchery, and continued our three day journey through Hidden Valley, Liberty, Old Blewett Highway, Pateros and Brewster before settling into our base in Omak, where we enjoyed great Mexican food at Rancho Chico prior to owling at Highlands Sno-Park. On Sunday we toured a loop around the Highlands that included Havillah Road, Neely Road, Muskrat Lake, Teal Lake, Molson Lakes, Fields Lake, Beth and Beaver lakes, Wauconda, Aeneas Valley Road, and more owling at Highlands Sno-Park. Returning to Seattle via the North Cascades Highway on Monday, we spent time at Leader Lake, Loup Loup Campground and Washington Pass.

Baby and juvenile birds were omnipresent along our route, especially in the lakes of the Okanogan Highlands, where we saw multiple sets of Barrow's Goldeneyes, a brood of Northern Pintails at Leader Lake, and a noisy nest of Williamson's Sapsuckers at Loup Loup Campground. Highlights for our trip, which netted about 110 species, were Nashville, Yellow, Yellow-rumped and Townsend's Warblers and Common Yellowthroat at the Northern Pacific Ponds, Caspian Terns at Pateros, an Eurasian Collared Dove in Brewster, a Western Kingbird nest at the corner of Fancher and Havillah Roads, where we also saw Say's Phoebe, Lark Sparrows, Lazuli Buntings and a Bullock's Oriole, and listened to a noisy Yellow-breasted Chat.

The corner of Havillah and Siwash Creek Roads gave us superb views of Bobolinks and a distant echo of a winnowing Wilson's Snipe. Wilson's Phalaropes were visible at Muskrat Lake, and Teal Lake provided us with a Redhead as well as families of Mallards, Buffleheads, and Ruddy Ducks. We found Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs at Molson Lakes, along with Spotted and Pectoral Sandpipers, a family of Barrow's Goldeneyes and another family of Canvasbacks. As anticipated, we found Black Tern at Beth and Beaver Lakes, along with more families of Canadian Geese and Barrow's Goldeneyes, a stunning Common Loon in full breeding plumage, a Hooded Merganser and Spotted Sandpipers. Owling was fair at Highlands Sno-Park, where we may have glimpsed a Great Gray Owl in the darkening shadows of the forest surrounding the meadows near the Sno-Park and heard Flammulated, Great Gray, and possibly juvenile Great Horned Owls.

Leader Lake was busy with campers, Cassin's Finches, a Hairy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, and a Red-necked Grebe, and we had good looks at a Warbling Vireo and Hermit Thrush at Loup Loup Campground. Rounding out our trip were the Gray Jays, Steller's jays and Clark's Nutcrackers at Washington Pass.


Jim Owens

Mercer Island