Tweets,

Debbie Dain, Jeanelle Richardson and I enjoyed four days of birding last week on the east side of the Cascades, Sinlahekan Valley and the Okanogan Highlands. The highlight of the trip was Jeanelle's discovery of a Painted Bunting along Siwash Road in the Highlands. After dipping on Bobolinks at the corner of Havillah and Siwash Roads, we decided to expand our search to other irrigated fields along Siwash Road. Immediately after stopping at a grove of willows and birch where Siwash Creek crosses under the road, Jeanelle caught a fleeting look at the Painted Bunting, but couldn't relocate it when it disappeared into the thicket. Debbie and I wandered off to look for other birds while Jeanelle stayed on point for the PABU. After 15 minutes, Debbie spotted a colorful bird in the sage brush across the road and asked Jeanelle for help in identifying the bird ? which turned out to be Jeanelle's PABU. I joined the group shortly thereafter and we all enjoyed watching the Painted Bunting in the brush and interacting with Lazalu Buntings in the riparian area. Thanks to Jeanelle for spotting the bird and persisting in her search to confirm its identity!

Other highlights of the trip included great looks at Nashville, MacGillivray's and Yellow Warblers at the Sugarloaf Campground along Sinlahekan Road, encountering dozens of Lazalu Buntings on Chopaka Road north of Palmer Lake (we decided this was an epicenter for Lazalu Buntings in the region), and hearing (but not seeing) a Great Gray Owl near the Highland Sno-Park. We also heard and saw several Great Horned Owls above Muskrat Lake, and were surprised to come across Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitchers and Wilson's Phalaropes on Baker Lake.

Most of the waterfowl we saw were molting, which made identification challenging. Similarly, there were many immature birds along our route, with their own unique plumages and haphazard songs. In all, we found 128 species and look forward to expanding next year's trip into the B.C. Side of the Okanogan Valley.

Jim Owens
Mercer Island