Hi Tweeters,

After the glowing reports of birding in Klickitat Country on
Tweeters yesterday, I won't add to them except to say that the drive up East
Road to Bickleton is stunningly beautiful this time of year. East Road
starts down near the Columbia River at about 500 feet elevation and
Bickleton is at about 3000 feet, so you get to enjoy all the changes in
vegetation and birds as you ascend. There are wonderful fields of what look
like native flower and grass communities higher up and then there are views
of Mt. St. Helens. The WESTERN KINGBIRDS and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS like this
area as well. Places to pull off the road between Bickleton and Goldendale
are scarce, so we were pleased to find the pioneer park in Cleveland (just
west of Bickleton). This time of year we were the only picknickers and the
WESTERN TANAGERS, SAY'S PHOEBE, AND RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER passed through and
said "hi" to us.

Outside the Day's Inn in Ellensberg (south of I-90 and on the
edge of a big, big grassy pasture, we heard of first KILLDEER for the trip,
quickly followed by SNIPE. Then we noticed BLACK SWIFTS, seemingly able to
float and hardly ever beat their wings. There were about 5-7 of the swifts.
Later in the morning, at the Northern Pacific Ponds in Cle Elum, we saw many
of the usual birds and found a GRAY CATBIRD, that we'd seen there one other
time.

We felt pretty smug to have had two sunny days birding in
eastern Washington as we passed back over Snoqualmie Pass this morning and
dropped into the rain between there and North Bend! Happy birding!
Charlotte Byers, Seattle