My wife and I spent the weekend birding in the warmer side of the state. We spent Friday night at Suncadia and were entertained with an aerial ballet by a pair of bald eagles, pair of ravens and several swallows during our breakfast on the deck overlooking the valley. A little spendy, but great place to stay to view wildlife.

We headed up the Umptanum on Saturday had good looked of the Great Horned Owl mom sitting on the nest. No babies visible yet. We drove up the road and saw many bluebirds and were serenaded by two western meadowlarks singing to each other across the valley.

Off to the Yakima, via Canyon road we observed the two osprey platforms with both parents helping to build the nests. At MP 15 we observed the bald eagles sitting on the nest and a nearby branch. No sign of any babies, but mom had her beak off and on like she was tending to little ones.

We finished our day at Fort Simcoe State Park enjoying some Los Hernandez (Union Gap) famous tamales and being entertained by at least a dozen or more Lewis Woodpeckers. This was the first time both of us had ever seen this bird.

Good weekend of enjoying the 70-80 degree weather and an abundance of wildlife.

Chris McNally