Matt et al,

It's great news that the youngsters have made it this long and that you got
to enjoy the show! On both the day a gnatcatcher was first reported (when
we also heard one), and the following day when I discovered there was
actually a family of four or five, I saw a Cooper's Hawk hunting there, so
I though the survival chances of a noisy gnatcatcher family with perched
fluttering fuzzkins were slim. For birders: rattlesnakes and Black Bears
are worth keeping an eye out for, really. On "family day" I found fresh
Black Bear scat in my footprint from the afternoon before.

Jim Cummins has good photos of the two adults on his Flickr photostream at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jlcummins_photography/48244924542/in/datetaken/

A WA Discover Pass is required for vehicle parking.

Please don't use playback on them: listing.aba.org/ethics/

Here's a Google Maps pin for exactly where I found the family:
https://tinyurl.com/y62p83dx
at 46.34063 N -120.83572 E

That's 80 yards ENE of the spot where the first bird was reported.
It's 580 yards due east of the blockhouse.
The blockhouse is 325 yards southwest of the parking lot.

I think it good to pause and think of what was done to Yakama Indian
children and culture at the site. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Simcoe

Good Birding,
Kevin Lucas
Selah, Yakima County, WA


On Sat, Jul 27, 2019 at 6:54 PM Matt Bartels <mattxyz at earthlink.net> wrote:


> Hi all-

> Today I started the day at Fort Simcoe in Yakima County. In addition to

> the enjoyable Ash-throated Flycatchers and Lewis's Woodpeckers, I was happy

> to see that the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher family reported a few weeks ago is

> still present. After a couple hours, I found at least three Blue-gray

> Gnatcatchers, most or all of them looking like young ones, buzzing around.

> This is the 2nd successful BGGN nesting in the state, following the first

> in Klickitat Co this year and last [on private land] -; I believe by the

> vocalizations, and by other people's photos, that this is a western

> subspecies BGGN family.

>

> Location: Start at the big blockhouse [not the small blockhouse closer to

> the parking lot as I did…] - the bigger blockhouse south of the main part

> of the park. Take the trail east -; the family was hanging out just before

> where the trail meets up with the southern service road. I think this is a

> bit west of where they were originally reported.

>

> Good birding,

>

> Matt Bartels

> Seattle, WA

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