Subject: [Tweeters] Walla Walla County birding Sat 3-22
Date: Mar 23 08:22:21 2014
From: Mike & MerryLynn - m.denny at charter.net


Hello all,
After a very frosty morning it finally warmed up to 55 and sunny - a nice day to be out. We found a couple new county year birds:

Harris's Sparrow - 1 bird in Touchet with many White-crowneds and 1 Golden-crowned.
American Avocet - 3 birds - 1 at the delta, 1 at Tyson pond (both these birds were swimming with ducks - water high and no mud), 1 heard at the Millet pond.

Cliff Swallow - 1 with 50+ Tree Swallows at the Kiosk pond on Northshore Drive.
Violet-green Swallows - 103 on lines this morning on McDonald Road - waiting for the temp to rise above freezing poor birds.
A Rough-winged Swallow was reported at McNary on the 21st
Fox Sparrow - 1 at the Millet pond
Savannah Sparrows - 2 on Detour Rd.

Canyon Wren - 2 with 1 Rock Wren and a PACIFIC WREN in Wallula Gap - the Pacific was foraging around the bottom of the sage at the base of the cliffs - weird place for it.

Glaucous Gull - 1 at the delta
Bald Eagles - 2 adults still at the nest on the delta, 8 subadults at the poop piles where there were many blackbirds.

SNOW GOOSE - yes just ONE today flying over many Whitefronts at Burbank slough - down from 7000 last week.
Greater White-fronted Geese - 1400+ between Burbank slough and Kiosk pond.
Cackling Geese - 450+ at Kiosk pond
Eurasian Wigeon - 1 at Tyson pond, another at the Millet pond.
Clark's Grebe - Port Kelley
Common Loon - 1 past Port Kelley

Gulls Gulls Gulls - on Riggs Road southwest of Touchet - covering the alfalfa fields with irrigation - couple thousand Ring-billed and Californias and 2 Mews around 6 pm - this is where the Curlews showed up last spring so check it out!

Mammals today - 1 Red Fox and 1 Porcupine.

Later, M&ML

*******************************************************
Mike & MerryLynn Denny
Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley

"If you haven't birded, you haven't lived"