Subject: [Tweeters] =?windows-1252?q?Eastern_WA_long_weekend_-_Pend_Oreil?=
Date: Sep 4 05:57:19 2012
From: Matt Bartels - mattxyz at earthlink.net


After stopping in to see the Wilson's Plover in Walla Walla on Thursday, I extended the long weekend to allow for some fun birding, mostly up in the NE Corner of the state.

Thursday [8/30/12]
After spending the morning with the Wilson's Plover, I moved on to Garfield Co., still hoping to track down shorebirds there. Other than Spotted Sandpipers at the mouth of Meadow Creek/Deadman Creek [at Central Ferry] and Killdeer most places, no other shorebirds popped up. However, I did turn up several American Pipits , surprisingly tough in Garfield, in a plowed field near the WSU farm along Hastings Hill Rd.

Friday [8/31/12]
I started with Washtucna in the morning -- as others have noted, migrants are moving through, but the numbers are still not huge --lots of Wilson's Warblers, with a few Nashville, Orange-crowned, Townsend's & Yellows. Only a handful of empids popped out [quite a difference with my Monday visit]. A male Black-headed Grosbeak was in with a flock of Western Tanagers, and a few Lincoln's Sparrows were the first of Lincoln's seen in almost every county visited this weekend.

After Washtucna, I headed way north, to Pend Oreille County where I hit the shorebird spots around Usk/Cusick to see what was still around. Along LeClerc Rd south of the Usk Bridge, at Pend Oreille Shores turnoff, I found two or three Solitary Sandpipers, a Wilson's Snipe, and a couple Spotted Sandpipers. North of the bridge, on the Kalispell Reservation, I stopped at Marenas Grotto pull-off to scope the river -- a Greater Yellowlegs was across the river, and another Solitary was closer in. An intriguing glimpse of a distant white goose across the river remained a mystery -- it looked smaller than the Canada Geese it was next too but it never lifted its head to help with the id -- domestic goose? A Ross's or Snow?

Flying Goose Ranch had good sand/mud, and I came across:
Lesser Yellowlegs - several [`6?],
Greater Yellowlegs [a couple],
Long-billed Dowitcher [1],
Pectoral Sandpiper [1], and
Semipalmated Plover [1]


Saturday [9/1/12]
I spent most of Saturday up in the higher elevations in Pend Oreille County, first around Bunchgrass Meadows, then over at Mt. Salmo. Highlights included nice looks at flocks of Boreal Chickadees in at least 4 spots -- FR 1935 mp 9.7 and 11, and FR 2220 at the Salmo lookout turnoff and about a half mile before the turnoff. At mp 11 above Bunchgrass, I heard [but didn't see] Pine Grosbeak, and had an unexpected Red-naped Sapsucker [moving through?]. A Pygmy-Owl, a couple White-crowned Sparrows [presumably oriantha subspecies, but the light was hard] and assorted expected mountain species made for a good day, despite dipping on targets like Spruce Grouse, Am. 3-toed Woodpecker, and WW Crossbill.

Sunday [9/2/12]
I began with another run through the Pend Oreille shorebird spots --
At the shoreline at the Kalispell PowWow grounds, 3 Baird's Sandpipers came in for a bit. Flying Goose Ranch had fewer shorebirds than on Friday, but the count of Semipalmated Plovers had increased to 3. Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs were still around, but the Pec & dowitcher had apparently moved on.

After wandering around another few spots during the day w/o much of note, I ended up in the evening in Ferry County at the mouth of the Sanpoil River -- great mud there, and I bet spending a while in the area could turn up a lot for Ferry Co -- it took a lot of wandering around, but I turned up a Pectoral Sandpiper a Western Sandpiper , 2 more small shorebirds [seemed same sized as the WESA, but I thought I was hearing Baird's Calls, so I'm not sure], along with Killdeer & Spotties. A Merlin cruised through as well, for a nice end to the evening [for me , not for the shorebirds].

Monday [9/3/12]
Began back at Washtucna [Adams], where the birds were more active & numerous than on Friday -- the mix was still similar -- mostly Wilson's Warblers, with a scattering of things like Tanagers, Warbling Vireos, warblers [Yellow-rumped [only a couple], Townsends, Orange-crowned, Yellow]. Two Townsend's Solitaires were working the hillside for a bit. Empid numbers had picked up a good bit, with Willow, Pac-slope, Dusky, Hammond's & Gray.

Next up, Lyons Ferry Park, where the Denny's have already given a run-down of the highlights [Goshawk, Lewis's Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher] -- the only other thing I pulled up in several hours of poking around were a couple Gray Flycatchers and a flock of 8 Forster's Terns.

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA