Tweets ? I led a field trip for the Seattle Audubon Master Birder class to Kittitas County yesterday. The weather was chilly, but mostly sunny (graying to thin overcast), with only moderate winds. For over there, that?s great weather for this time of year. We had some pretty good birding.

Highlights included close looks PYGMY NUTHATCHES at the NP Ponds in Cle Elum, and a calling NORTHERN SHRIKE near the intersection of Teanaway Rd., and Red Bridge Rd. A surprise for this date was a HOUSE WREN seen visiting a snag, calling, and singing, on Hart Rd. east of Cle Elum.

On Lower Green Canyon Rd., just SW of Smithson, we had six LONG-BILLED CURLEW at the first unplowed field. At a pond just south of them were two GREATER YELLOWLEGS and some KILLDEER, while across the street were WILSON?S SNIPE. Great to get 4 shorebird species from one spot in Kittitas County! There was a seventh LBCU a little further south on L Green Canyon.

Also at that location were a pair of NORTHERN HARRIER, with the male repeatedly performing actual loop-de-loop displays for the female. Amazing flying, and gorgeous to see in the sunshine.

We had good success with sage birds at the east access to the Quilomene WMA off Old Vantage Highway; Loggerhead Shrike, Sagebrush Sparrow, Brewer?s Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, and Mountain Bluebird.

Near the end of the day, we found a very yellow ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the borrow ponds on Woodhouse Loop Rd. south of Ellensburg. It was our only warbler species besides Yellow-rumped and Common Yellowthroat.

== Michael Hobbs
== www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== BirdMarymoor at frontier.com