Hi all,?

Originally planned a 3-day, birding trip to the Okanogan and Douglas County, but it was cut to 1.5 days due to a faulty starter. The dense,patchy fog and muddy roads hampered visibility and accessibility to some locations---especially on Cameron Lake Rd. So be careful! Nevertheless, I had a great time and was pleasantly surprise to find lots of good birds in decent numbers.?

Spent the majority of the time in the Okanogan Highlands with a few hours on the Waterville Plateau.

Still very low levels of snow on the ground but good numbers of WHITE WINGED CROSSBILLS, SHARP TAILED GROUSE, and owl species were seen. Just when I think I understand these elusive, nomadic birds, they throw me for a loop.? The element of surprise is always fun!
Highlights included: Watching the White-winged Crossbills feed at several locations and some males singing. ?The Northern Hawk Owl was nice against softly falling snow. Getting a video of both species was a bonus--especially with the crossbills as they tend to feed up high and do not stay still for very long.?

*******BIRD SPECIES SEEN***********

NORTHERN GOSHAWK---(an adult on Nealey Rd)
Golden Eagle--(2 birds on Havillah Rd)
GYRFALCON--(one gray morph adult on Dyer Hill Rd near Bridgeport)
Prairie Falcon-(one bird on Havillah Rd)Chukar--(four birds near Conconully)
Gray Patridge (20 birds on Nealey, 10 on Chesaw Rd, 4 on Havillah Rd)
Ruffed Grouse (2 birds on Toroda-Creek Rd and 3 on Mary Ann Creek Rd)
SHARP TAILED GROUSE (4 on Mary Ann Creek Rd, 20 plus on Happy Hill Rd, and 12 near Bridgeport Hill Rd)
Western Screech Owl (one in Yakima Co)Long eared owl (1 near Goldendale, 3 birds on Waterville Plateau)Short-eared owl (one hunting on Mary Ann Creek Rd)Northern Pygmy Owl (2 birds-one on Mary Ann Creek Rd)
GREAT GRAY OWL(one bird before first light near Molson)
Northern Saw-Whet owl (2 roosting birds in Okanogan County)NORTHERN HAWK OWL(one cooperative bird; spotted 1/4 mile and then came in for great views after talking nicely to it)
Great Horned owl (7 birds in the Okanogan Highlands)
White headed Woodpecker (2 birds on Cameron Lake Rd)
American Three Toe Woodpecker (one bird in Sno-Park)Bohemian Waxwings (100 plus birds on Nealey Rd, 50 along Hwy 97 near Crumbacher Rd)
American Tree Sparrows (5 birds on Mary Ann Creek Rd, 3 birds on near Conconully)
Snow Bunting (10 birds on Davies Rd)
Gray crowned Rosy-finches (20 birds on Nealey Rd)
PINE GROSBEAKS (4 small flocks of 3-10 birds in Okanogan Highlands)
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (50 -60 birds near Sitzmark, 40 on Mary Ann Creek Rd, 20 birds on Davies)
COMMON REDPOLLl (Up to 500 birds on Mary Ann Creek Rd and 30 birds near Bolster Rd)

VIDEOS to come as time permits.?


Good birding,?
ktbirding.com
Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon)?