This last weekend I drove from Vancouver, WA to Spokane, WA by way of
Leavenworth for my annual Bloomsday run. Anyway, I birded along the way
and stopped by 1) Mosier Creek/Falls OR 2) Tule Road near Toppenish 3)
Satus (Toppenish NWR off Totus Rd.) Wildlife Area 4) Leavenworth?s
Blackbird Island 5) Leavenworth?s Sleeping Lady 6) Old Kuch Road near
Davenport, 7) Reardan Ponds.

If anyone is interested in full reports, I can direct you to my ebird
lists. I?m not sure what might be terribly rare for an area, so I?m
posting my highlights.

Highlights:

1) Mosier: FOY AMERICAN DIPPER at the falls, and WESTERN TANANGER and
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (though when I got home to Vancouver on Monday, I
finally had black-headed grosbeak in my yard.) Along the creek, on the
other side of the gorge, was a house with a hummingbird feeder on it.
Nice spot to see some hummers, though the distance didn?t bode well for
distinguishing the green guys.

Along the old highway from Mosier to Rowena point saw WESTERN BLUEBIRDS.

2) Tule Road (near Toppenish): Good spot for desert birds. SAGE SPARROW
(lifer for me) were at the start of the road. Also many HORNED LARKS and
WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. Many swallow all over the place. And a pair of
LONG-BILLED CURLEW when back in the tilled fields.

3) Satus Wildlife Refuge (though Google calls in Toppenish Wildlife
Refuge): Lots of usual suspects. Got a HOUSE WREN and LINCOLN?S SPARROW
there. Many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. Other flittering warbler I didn't
have the time to ID. The true highlight was spotting a BARN OWL in the
tree near the parking lot.

4) Blackbird Island/Park, Leavenworth: I finally got to see perched
EVENING GROSBEAKS. I keep missing them and only see fly overs. Saw DOWNY
WOODPECKER and NORTHERN FLICKER but no white-headed? yet. Lots of CANADA
GOOSE and babies.

5) Sleeping Lady Resort, Leavenworth: Here I got my WHITE-HEADED
WOODPECKER. Someone had posted that it was near the Flicker cabins and
that?s where we found our one, across the parking area east of the
cabins. Also saw a CASSIN?S FINCH couple.

6) Old Kuch Road, Davenport, WA: Lots of the same birds I saw on Tule,
but many SAY?S PHOEBE AND AMERICAN PIPIT. Also VESPER SPARROW, SAVANNAH
and many WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. Actually, there were pretty much
white-crowned everywhere. And some peeps I had trouble IDing until I
check out pics and have decided they were SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. I
desperately need a sandpiper class!

7) Reardan Ponds, WA: I was a bit confused on where to go here, so ended
up finding the sewage lagoon and spotting a few WILSON?S PHALAROPE,
which was exciting for me. Then I found the actual parking lot by asking
some folks and walked out to the bird blind. Very birdy. The place was
flooded with YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. Saw a REDHEAD, displaying HORNED
GREBES and many waterfowl and swallows. Probably the most birdy spot on
my trip.

On the drive home, near Umatilla, OR, had a couple fly overs of AMERICAN
WHITE PELICAN flocks. All in all I got 22 new year birds and my total
was about 76 birds.

Thanks to the folks who answered my questions in building my birding trip.

Vannessa
Vancouver, WA