Bright and early on this spectacular morning, twelve us of headed east of
the mountains in search of neotropical migrants and other special
birds. It was a delightful group of birders who proved to have excellent
spotting skills and great good humor.

If you'd like to see all that we saw, I recommend you to checklists that
one of our members (who is more skilled than I at creating eBird mobile
reports) generated for the stops we made today. (Stops are highlighted in
the following text.) I'll mention just some highlights.

At our first stop, at the WSDOT facility at *Snoqualmie Pass*, we had
excellent looks at several male Rufous Hummingbirds and an Anna's as they
sampled the well-stocked feeders.

The stop at the *turnoff for Stampede Pass*was relatively quiet (no dippers
at the bridge in the fast flowing river) but we had singing Warbling
Vireos, Townsend's Warblers, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

*Cle Elum's Railroad Ponds*were hopping. A pair of Pygmy Nuthatches going
in and out of a tiny hole in a snag delighted us all. A male Western
Bluebird shone in the sun and Yellow warblers sang and flitted in the
willows along the water. House Wrens filled the air with their beautiful
songs and a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes moved gracefully in the water. A
Black-headed Grosbeak called from across the River but never showed.

When we arrived at *Umtanum Creek Recreation Area*around 9:30, the birding
was so great from the parking lot that we couldn't tear ourselves away to
cross the bridge: brilliantly colored Western Tanagers, a stunning male
Bullock's Oriole, an Evening Grosbeak and Yellow Warblers kept our heads
spinning. Once across the River, our first bird was an obliging
Yellow-breasted Chat giving its unique vocalizations from the top of small
tree, letting all of us see it well. It then flew across the River in such
a way that we wondered if it was displaying to a nearby female. A Lazuli
Buntings was next up, looking dark blue until it turned and the sun hit its
shimmering turquoise head and back. Three Vaux's Swifts flew overhead, an
unexpected treat. The star of the morning was a pair of Prairie Falcons
who took turns flying overhead and landing on rock outcroppings on both
sides of the canyon, giving picture perfect views. We enjoyed watching a
brave Kestrel dive-bomb one of the Falcons.

The dippers, sadly, were not at home when we stopped at the bridge
over the *Teanaway
River*and it was relatively quiet at the *Bull Frog Pond*where Warbling
Vireos and Yellow Warblers were singing away. Still, the wonderful group
of birders and the beautiful birds we saw today, including lifers for many
in our group, made for a memorable and highly enjoyable Mother's Day of
birding.

Vicki King

Seattle, WA
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