A Blue Moon heralded the beginning of a trip to the Colockum Pass and
Naneum Ridge areas. Dave Swayne and I cruised this high, dry country
this past weekend in search of migrants, taking advantage of our string
of good weather. Did you know? Colockum Pass was a halfway station
between Ellensburg and Wenatchee for freight and immigrants en route
from The Dalles, OR, to Ruby Mines, BC.

As we left the interstate, heading north into the town of Kittitas, we
crossed paths with a flock of at least 50-60 Eurasian Collared Dove,
probably double that number. Is this the epicenter for the species in
the state?

Up in the Colockum, we crossed several open areas that were literally
swarming with Chipping Sparrows and Mountain Bluebirds, both numbering
in the hundreds. At one of these clearings, a Prairie Falcon kept the
passerines moving, its wheeling and soaring flight right above us giving
fantastic looks at its beautiful markings.

On Colockum Rd, a Northern Pygmy-Owl came in to Dave's tooting,
contributing to the conversation. Surprisingly, only a single Mountain
Chickadee appeared to complain of its presence. At other spots on the
trip, just a short burst of pygmy imitation would bring in dozens of
birds. A Great-horned Owl serenaded us in the wee hours from the meadow
near our camp. As we headed out on Sunday, a Barred Owl flew in to a
perch at the side of the road giving great looks. And, descending into
Coleman Canyon, at a spot where we had a Pygmy a couple years ago, a
Western Screech Owl decided to make its presence known. It was well
buried in the dense riparian growth; its calling did not seem to bother
the several dozen Warbling Vireo feeding just above.

We also had good luck with woodpeckers. Several Lewis's Woodpeckers flew
over the road, heading south. We had several Williamson's Sapsuckers, at
scattered locations, and a couple of Black-backed Woodpeckers at Judy's
Tamarack Park. In Colman Canyon, in the same location as the Screech,
Dave spotted a White-headed Woodpecker. Hairy (many), Downy and Norther
Flicker rounded out the category.

Only a few individual flycatchers were in evidence. Most numerous was
Western Wood-Pewee, but we also had Gray, Dusky, Hammond's and Pacific
Slope.

Warblers were present everywhere, though not all species were in such
high numbers as with other recent Tweeters reports. Yellow-rumped and
Townsend's were easily found at almost every stop, but we also had
Orange-crowned, Wilson's and Nashville (and a MacGillivray's at
Snoqualmie Pass on the way home). We stumbled across pockets with large
numbers of Warbling Vireo and an occasional Cassin's.

Some raptor movement was observed with Sharp-shinned Hawk presenting the
largest number: probably a dozen or more, with at least 8 moving through
our campsite and adjacent meadow the second night.

Others: heard only White-breast Nuthatch and Clark's Nutcracker; a few
individual Townsend's Solitaire; a single American Pipit; 3 individual
Hermit Thrush; a single Vaux's Swift and a Gray Catbird at Teanaway
Marsh; and a couple of Lincoln's Sparrow at Snoqualmie Pass. At the
junction of Taylor and Lambert Rd, we hit a mini-jackpot of at least 40
Bushtit, maybe double that number.

Our original intent was to backpack into the trail-less country of the
Colockum but changed plans, which provided probably our best sighting of
the trip. As we were leaving our camp the second night to scout owling
sites nearby, a Bobcat appeared at the wood's edge. It stayed for
several minutes as we watched each other. Twice, as we attempted to
really leave, the cat snuck back into the woods, only to emerge again to
watch our exit. We gave up before it did, but not before exploiting the
great photo op.

A few videos from trip:
Northern Pygmy-Owl <http://youtu.be/rsQdYSqw80U>
Black-backed Woodpecker <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOSWI5UncKY>
Bobcat <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UaIJDxEYOg>

Scott Ramos
Seattle