Opened Tweeters this a.m. and saw Barb Deihl's
post on the Cle Elum RR Ponds which prompted this
message. I was pleased to meet Barb there
yesterday...a;ways fun to run into people who you
knew previously only vicariously through their
Tweeters posts. It was the first time I had
birded that spot and I found it a great
area...although (and this happens often) my
birding experience (or at least results) differed
from hers. I am sure a lot of it is that I have a
terrible ear and seemingly no talent for
remembering bird songs/calls. Barb had numerous
Yellow Warblers and no Nashvilles. I had many (at
least a half dozen Nashvilles - singing and
visible and captured (poorly) by the camera) and
NO Yellow Warblers. As an aside, it did not seem
fair that this bird came so easily as I had been
looking in many places in the past week without
seeing it until finally on Saturday I found one
with much effort at the Fill with some very
helpful input from Connie SIdles. Barb missed the
Oriole I saw and I missed the Black Headed
Grosbeak that she had. It would be interesting to
compare full lists. What we clearly both shared
was a spectacularly beautiful day and fun with
avian friends.

Other places visited and highlights yesterday
included Teanaway River Bridge (a brief sighting
of a single Dipper), SR 970 Yakima River Access
(highlighted by two Ruffed Grouse), Umptanum Road
(Mountain and Western Bluebirds, and Brewer's,
Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrows, Western Kingbird
and a Horned Lark), Manashtash Creek (two bathing
Western Tanagers, a Calliope Hummingbird and some
very photogenic California Quail) and Robinson
Canyon after 5 PM which was spectacularly
beautiful in the light of the declining sun and
produced (in addition to three elk carcasses) more
Tanagers and another Ruffed Grouse, Lazuli
Bunting, Cassin's Finch, Chipping Sparrows, and
Evening Grosbeaks among others).

Notably absent all day -- pure diligence and bad
ear surely played major roles - were the
aforementioned Black Headed Grosbeaks and Yellow
Warblers and flycatchers other than a single
Western Wood Pewee and 3 or 4 Western Kingbirds.

A closing note is that Robinson Canyon was
extremely birdy as well as beautiful and I intend
to go back and spend many hours there.