A great group from all over the state met at Lyle. The first stop was 1 mile north of Lyle where for over 20 years Anna's Hummingbirds have been seen on territory without the aid of a feeder. Below we could hear Spotted Sandpipers on the Klickitat River and a singing MacGillivray's Warbler. A quick stop to look for Acorn Woodpecker found 3 of them with a Ash-throated Flycatcher posing for all. Vaux's Swifts were feeding over Balch Lake with turtles basking on logs in the lake. At the cemetery a Lazuli Bunting, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bushtit, Lark Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch and Western Bluebird were seen. Bingen marina produced 2 pairs of Purple Martins with 2 Caspian Terns flying east up the Columbia River. Leaving the lowlands we headed up to Kreps Lane where several herds of elk and Sandhill Cranes were seen. A Wilson's Snipe was winnowing and a pair of Cinnamon Teal played hide-and-seek in the grass along the roadside ditch. While eating lunch at the headquarters of Conboy NWR we could hear Common Yellowthroat, House Wrens, and a Northern Harrier was seen hunting. Visiting another cemetery we noted a pair of Western Kingbirds and saw a female plumaged Cassin's Finch singing. The pond/lake was almost dry east of Glenwood without any shorebirds. Several stops around Trout Lake produced our first Rufous Hummingbird and many calling Sora and a Hammond's Flycatcher responded to the I-pod so everyone could get good views.

Flycatchers and warblers as a whole seemed absent or quiet where in past years they had been noted. Also no White-headed Woodpeckers. Species total for the day was 91 and was nice to see some of Washington State's localized species that breed here.



Ken
Knittle

Vancouver WA
98665 mailto:washingtonbirder.com
Washington Birder online



http://www.wabirder.com/