As lunch wrapped up in the early afternoon of June 3rd,
the British Columbia Field Ornithologists’ AGM was coming to a close, it was
time for 14 keeners (including myself) to keep the party rolling! After leading
last year’s extension fieldtrip to Fort Nelson, I had the distinct pleasure of
leading another one—this time to the interior of Washington State. Along the
way we would be concentrating mainly on the birds of shrub-steppe and ponderosa
pine habitats. Unfortunately poor weather made for some difficult and
unpleasant birding at times, and thwarted our owling ambitions. Nevertheless,
some fantastic birds and moments were had by all—here’s our report!
DAY 1: Princeton to
Omak, USA
Unlike last year when we had 2 rented vans, this year we
would be carpooling. So after organising the troops, our convoy left Princeton
around 2pm, eastward bound for the Chopaka border-crossing near the lower end
of the Canadian Similkameen Valley. Before passing through customs, we stopped
in an extensive area of sage-brush where Brewer’s Sparrows and Sage Thrashers
(rare) occur in most years. Unfortunately both of these specialists eluded us
on this particular afternoon but we did get fantastic looks at a showy LARK
SPARROW, and best of all was a singing CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW (a scarce and
irregular breeder in the area). After marvelling at the buzzy song of the male,
I noticed some movement in a nearby sage and caught a glimpse of a bird running
away along the ground. Intrigued, I checked the bush and sure enough—there was
the nest! (4 eggs)
We rolled through US customs relatively unscathed. On the
other side we had a nice comparison of large flycatchers as single WESTERN and
EASTERN KINGBIRDS lined up along a fence-line beside a SAY’S PHOEBE. Next we
headed south past the settlement of Nighthawk (where at least one vehicle saw a
nighthawk!), then turned onto the Chopaka Road which gives access to the rich
riparian bottomlands of Champney Slough. Picture Road 22 near Osoyoos but on
steroids, with groves of massive cottonwoods surrounded by willow-clad marshes,
flooded hayfields, and a meandering creek that leads into the north end of
Palmer Lake (of Ross’s Gull 2011 fame).
Along this road we were treated to scope views of several male
BOBOLINKS, while our only HAIRY WOODPECKER of the trip flew past, and a GRAY
CATBIRD sang from a willow thicket. Further up the road we stopped beneath a
rocky cliff where the cascading song of a CANYON WREN greeted us and
WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS chattered high overhead. BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and
LAZULI BUNTINGS added their songs to the mix, and a lone male WOOD DUCK swam by
in a nearby oxbow.
We still had an hour-long drive ahead of us so we piled back
into the vehicles and headed more-or-less straight to our hotel in Omak. We
made one stop along the east side of Palmer Lake, where we enjoyed close views
of six species of swallows lined up on a power-line, while a CHUKAR called
somewhere up on the bluff. After a long weekend of late nights and early
mornings in Princeton, everyone was exhausted so the evening of owling was
called off in favour of a decent sleep. Mexican food at “Rancho Chico’s was
pretty tasty (at least mine was!), and we all fell asleep with dreams of
white-capped cone-peckers dancing in our heads.
DAY 2: Omak to Yakima
After a good night’s sleep we awoke rejuvenated and excited
about the full day of birding that was to come. The weather however was
decidedly “less than ideal.” Omak was shrouded in low clouds accompanied by a
light but steady drizzle. Nothing we could do about that of course, so we
headed up into the hills east of town for some pine forest birding.
When we arrived at the first patch of ponderosa pine (where
I have seen a pair of White-headed Woodpeckers on two previous occasions), the
drizzle appeared to be a bit heavier. On the plus side, there still seemed to
be birds around so we threw on our jackets and those who had brought umbrellas
deployed them (who would have thought we’d need those in central Washington?).
CASSIN’S FINCHES sang from the tops of the trees, while a male SPOTTED TOWHEE
trilled from a nearby shrub. Then suddenly we heard the liquidy chilup-chilup of a GRAY FLYCATCHER. This
was a lifer for many in the group so we pranced around in the rain for a bit
until we had it out in the open, tail wagging and all! While this was certainly
a nice treat, the bird many people had on their minds, was that previously alluded-to
White-headed Woodpecker! We hiked around in the woods for about 30min until
everyone’s shoes were soaked through.
 |
| Typical Okanagan birding scene... NOT! |
Next we walked up and down the main road as well as a gravel access road to a few houses behind a small pond. The two ponds in the area produced some nice birds including a lone PIED-BILLED GREBE, a pair of RUDDY DUCKS, several RED-WINGED and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS, and an AMERICAN COOT. A foraging NASHVILLE WARBLER gave us a good look, then best of all, a female VARIED THRUSH came down to the water’s edge to drink!!! This is without a doubt the first time I have observed Varied Thrush in this habitat at this time of year. By now they should all be up in the boreal forests sitting on eggs, and this one was in an open ponderosa pine forest surrounded by miles and miles of sage brush plateau. Assuming she was a lost anomaly, I was even more astonished when a male started singing behind us! Not exactly a White-headed Woodpecker, but in some ways even more interesting to me… okay sorry!
The rain and lack of woodpeckers had started to affect the
group’s morale so I decided to try for some sage-brush/grassland species
further up the road (we could always try for the woody later). Only a few kms
beyond this small piney area, the road climbs onto a large plateau (part of the
“Okanagan Highlands”), where all one can see for miles in either direction is
sage. BREWER’S and VESPER SPARROWS are abundant here and we were pleased to get
long and close views of both. Out other target was supposed to be a little
harder… I am talking of course about the “secretive” GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.
These
little guys give their insect-like trills from grass-tussocks, and rarely perch
high enough for a clear view (Note: If
you have attended more than one Deep Purple concert in your life you may not even
have a chance of hearing it). Today would be different though! Possibly
because of the rain, there was a small scattering of sparrows feeding out in
the open in a patch of short grass near an old out-house. They seemed to all be
Vespers but then I caught sight of a smaller bird that looked grasshopper-ish!
It dashed behind a grass-tuft though and someone suggested it may have been a
funky-looking Vesper. “This will solve it,” I said, then played a short burst
of its song on my phone. Instantly the bird flushed up and landed right at my
feet, hopping around wildly as it tried to suss out where the intrusion had
come from. I have seen roughly 60ish grasshopper sparrows in my life and I can
confidently say this would make the top 3! Oos
and Ahhs all around!
 |
| Grasshopper Sparrow feeding out in the open! |
Happy with our sparrow trio, and keen to get back into the
dry, heated vehicles, we headed back down the hill for one last kick at the
proverbial “white-headed can.” The rain had eased up a bit but the undergrowth
off the road was still soaked so I decided to lead the group along the road in
the opposite direction than before. Only a few minutes later… a sharp chickachick! came from about 100m off
the road. “I just heard it! That’s it!” But we couldn’t see anything, so the
whole group ran back up the road to access a trail that led to where the sound
was coming from. Our hearts thumping, no one wanted to miss the Holy of Holies,
this ghost of the pines. “There! Oh no wait, that’s a sapsucker. Damn” Chickachick! There it is! There it is!”
I shouted as it swooped by, right in front of us, before landing low down out
of sight near a rocky slope.
Hearts beating harder now, some beaming from their brief but close view, other feeling anxious, some may have even missed it… “It’s coming out in the open!” someone shouted. And there it was… a gorgeous male WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER—graciously making his way up the side of a pine tree, almost as if he was aware of his celebrity status. We were able to follow him around for a couple more minutes before he vanished, almost into thin air, never to be seen again (on this day anyway).
Hearts beating harder now, some beaming from their brief but close view, other feeling anxious, some may have even missed it… “It’s coming out in the open!” someone shouted. And there it was… a gorgeous male WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER—graciously making his way up the side of a pine tree, almost as if he was aware of his celebrity status. We were able to follow him around for a couple more minutes before he vanished, almost into thin air, never to be seen again (on this day anyway).
 |
| Yeah BABY! |
Well it’s hard to top that. For some, this experience was
the culmination of multiple decades of searching in vain. Lifers ticked, jinxes
broken, magnificent bird well-seen, and for me—a huge relief! I can’t deny that
I was feeling a bit of pressure after 3 or 4 different people approached me in
Princeton saying that this bird was the main reason they signed up for the
tour. Phew… and in the rain to boot.
With morale fully rebooted beyond expectations, we returned
to the valley bottom then made our way south to the town of Brewster where we
picked up some lunch, while some took advantage of the great Mexican market. We
brought our lunches to the Dry Falls State Park visitor’s centre—possibly the
most scenic picnic area in the state! Here, a massive gorge seemingly comes out
of nowhere and provides birders with a great mix of wetland habitats far below
to go along with rocky slopes, steep cliffs, and grasslands close at hand.
WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS darted past at eye-level, and some of the group got
point-blank views of a ROCK WREN. A few ducks were scoped out in the ponds down
below, and I spotted an adult PEREGRINE FALCON preening on a nearby basalt
outcrop.
 |
| #Enjoyment |
 |
| A great place for a sandwich |
Well we didn’t have to worry about finding nice birds. At
our first stop, we were pleased to find 5 GREAT EGRETS foraging in a field
alongside some cows. A pair of OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS chased each other
through some large trees near the farmhouse, and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
whistled in the distance. Although we couldn’t see any Tricolored-like objects,
YELLOW-HEADED, RED-WINGED, and BREWER’S BLACKBIRDS were all abundant at this
spot, and we definitely “heard” at least one of the Tricoloureds somewhere out
in the marsh.
We moved along to the east end of “Crab Creek Marsh” (as I
believe it’s called), where more extensive open water provided us with a few
new species such as CINNAMON and GREEN-WINGED TEAL, WESTERN GREBE, and more
AMERICAN AVOCETS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS. An adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was
spotted sitting in an isolated willow, and even better was an AMERICAN BITTERN
that flew past for great looks! At least a couple more TRICOLOURED BLACKBIRDS
were heard singing from the reeds then someone in the group spotted three
blackbirds perched up in the open. One was a female-type that looked like a
Red-wing, another was definitely a male Red-wing, but the third had noticeably
whiter median coverts, and the bill appeared thinner-looking. But soon after
getting the scopes on this trio, they all dashed down into some weeds, so
unfortunately not everyone was able to get good looks. As it would turn out, a
few more “good candidates” would pop up now and then but none that we could say
for sure was a Tricoloured. The sole exception was when one of the Margarets
went for a walk down the road (there were 3 Margarets and 2 Daves on this trip
and apparently two of the women on the tour had spouses by home named
Dave/David… good thing they stayed home! Pheew…. Anyway, back to the story). So
one of the Margarets walk down the road a few hundred meters from the group and
she was treated to close views of a male Tricoloured! Unfortunately the bird
flew off before she could get our attention.
The early afternoon had become the late afternoon however,
and we still had a ways to go to get to Yakima, so we piled back in the cars
and started heading back to Soap Lake. Then as we passed a rocky outcrop, I
caught some movement in the corner of my eye—a large white bird… Snowy Owl???
Bins up---Holy S*&%%%!!! ALBINO RAVEN!!!
Yes indeed, a fully albino raven (pure white with red eye and pink bill)
landed on a rocky turret beside an old raven nest—we decided that it must be a
recently fledged juvenile. I believe this is the first fully-albino bird I’ve
seen in the wild, and a raven makes it extra-special!
Happy to end the day on such a high note, we got back in the
cars once more. But what about this incoming hawk? I’d been checking the
Red-tails all day. Ooo it’s big. Really white. Rusty underparts! Mottled white in
the inner webs of the outer primaries! FERRUGINOUS HAWK!!! I yelled as I ran
back along the road to alert all the other cars. It was cruising fast but
luckily everyone was able to get out in time to marvel at this monarch of the
prairie. With our eyes still glowing, it almost seemed inevitable that a
smart-looking dark-morph SWAINSON’S HAWK (our first of the trip) was waiting
for us on a power-pole at the next junction.
The drive to Yakima took longer than I had anticipated while
planning the itinerary (Washinton looks smaller on the map!), so we decided to
stop in Ephrata for dinner (more Mexican) before pushing onto Yakima. Many had
been looking forward to some owling tonight but unfortunately rain thwarted any
hope of Flams or screeches. The best we could do were the couple of COMMON
NIGHTHAWKS and a single COMMON POORWILL seen by some on the drive south.
It had been a rainy day, but it had been a very good day.
DAY 3: Yakima to
Ephrata (via Toppenish, Fort Simcoe, and the Wenas Valley)
Another rainy morning; this was supposed to be a tour of
shrub-steppe grasslands and deserts and the Yakima Valley received 15% of its
annual rainfall in the two days we were in the area! But that’s birding—the
birds are still out there somewhere, and it’s our job to find them.
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| Supposedly this part of the Sonoran Desert? |
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| Ash-throated Flycatcher |
At Fort Simcoe, the sun came out for a pleasant while, but
the wind was still very much with us. Luckily that did not matter as the birds
performed supremely. This stand of planted oaks around the fort are well-known
by Washington birders possibly the most reliable location for LEWIS’S
WOODPECKER in the state, and so it was no surprise that the group got great
looks at around ten of these unique beauties as we strolled around the fort
grounds. HOUSE WRENS, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, and BULLOCK’S ORIOLES were
some of the other favourites in the area, along with a pair of ASH-THROATED
FLYCATCHERS! The latter of course is a rarity in BC but this chatty flycatcher
may one day breed in our fair land as it has been steadily expanding its range
from the Oregon border north into Washington in recent years.
We ate lunch in Toppenish then headed north of Yakima to the Wenas Valley. Here a dirt road winds through a large area of protected grasslands, and is home to one of the last remaining colonies of Burrowing Owls in the state. As we pulled up to the area where the owls were supposed to be (I hadn’t been here since I was a child), a PRAIRIE FALCON was spotted soaring in front of us then it swooped down across the road and quickly out of site. While a few people managed to see it a second time later on, unfortunately a few of the cars ended up missing it (this was our only Prairie Falcon of the trip).
When we stepped out of the vehicles, the wind was noticeably
strong, and after scanning around the network of burrows (made by
ground-squirrels and badgers), I was getting worried that the owls might opt to
nap deep inside the holes instead of their typical sentinel posture in front of
the entrance. We tried a few places up and down the road, but no owls could be
seen and it was too windy to try for sage sparrows and the like. As a last
ditch effort, most of the group went for a hike in the surrounding area, and
found what we suspect were three active Burrowing Owl burrows—the entrances
were littered with white-wash and pellets, and one even had an owl feather!
Unfortunately, that would be as close as we would get; a flyover pair of HORNED
LARKS being our sole consolation.
The weather was starting to get quite frustrating, as it
seemed like either rain, wind, or both, stayed with us the entire trip. The
frustration came to a peak when we reached the small community of Vantage on
our way north to Ephrata. Here we had hoped to finally kill the sage sparrow
jinx, with a side of Black-throated Sparrows—a pair of this distinctive desert
sparrow had been reliable all spring. But Vantage was even windier! Too windy
to even attempt to hear or see sparrows, and apparently this isn’t too unusual
for the area given the name of the local food-stand: “Blustery Burger”
We checked into the Travel Lodge in Ephrata, where we would
be spending our final night as a group. After the positive experience the
evening before, the group opted to once again eat at “Tequila’s” in Ephrata,
where the appetizers could probably feed a small nation-state.
Day 4: Ephrata back
to Princeton, BC (via Grand Coulee Dam)
This morning the keeners in the group assembled at 5am,
hoping to head down to Vantage for one last attempt at the Black-throated and
Sage Sparrows. Unfortunately however, the wind was still strong and rain was
threatening. Instead we decided to reconvene around 6am and check out a local
park in Ephrata that is a noted migrant trap. The appropriately named “Oasis
Park” is not really an amazing example of natural splendor or grandeur, but
it’s the only lush patch of green amongst miles and miles of dry sage scrub
habitat, so migrant songbirds are drawn to it like a magnet. About a week
before we arrived, a Black-and-White Warbler and an Eastern Phoebe were both
found here—great birds for Washington. It was early June however, so we were
not sure if any migrants would still be around. Well in fact there were;
nothing rare, but a few new birds for the trip list. WILSON’S and
MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLERS sang from a thick patch of shrubs but refused to come
out in the open, but the group did get great looks at a pair of TOWNSEND’S
WARBLERS, as well as an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and both WARBLING and RED-EYED
VIREOS. Nice to get some of these forest birds for the trip since the majority
of the tour was in the lowland open-country where these birds are hard to come
by.
After a hearty breakfast in Ephrata, half the group split
off as there were a few cars continuing on with their holidays either in
Washington, or those heading back home to the coast. The rest of us continued
birding northward toward the border. We first stopped off again at Dry Falls,
where the wind had died off considerably. A single CASPIAN TERN flew north
along the canyon, while the familiar WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS continued to perform
at close range. Since the wind had died down, I decided we had better make one
more attempt at sage sparrow before continuing north. We walked up an abandoned
stretch of highway that parallels a small canyon, with big sage clumps on
either side. The habitat looked ideal for sage sparrows but all we could muster
were a pair of LARK SPARROWS and a singing ROCK WREN. Just before turning
around, Val George of Victoria spotted a bird perched on a sage in the
distance—a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE! Soon after it flew past us and landed on a nearby
fence for a closer look; our only one of the trip and a lifer for some!
“Okay one more stop, and then we need to get a move one,” I
said. The birding was starting to pick up but I had to keep in mind that we
still had a long trip back to Princeton and I needed to get to Revelstoke that
night!
Good thing we stopped though. Immediately after getting out
of the car, I heard the distant warbles of a SAGE THRASHER! This is a bird I
thought we would find easily, but the wind and rain had thwarted much of our
sage-brush birding. We walked closer and closer to the sound then there it was!
We watched with glee as it sang from atop a sage, before flying across the road
and onto a chain-link fence. This was a lifer for most present so there were
plenty of “yipees” and “All rights!” followed by even more excitement when the
thrasher dropped from the fence and into some tall grass, flushing a pair of
GREY PARTRIDGES!!! How often does that happen? Thanks for the help Mr.
Thrasher!
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| Sage Thrasher-watchers |
After the dampened moods of the morning and previous
afternoon, this flurry of excitement certainly boosted the morale as we pressed
north along the east side of Banks Lake. Here we made a few stops, hoping to
find some breeding groups of Western Grebes where we might luck into a couple
Clark’s mixed in. The first couple recommended spots were duds however, but
then we checked in at a small cove near the NE end of the lake. There were only
four grebes present but BINGO! One was a CLARK’S GREBE! As Adrian Leather of
Quesnel remarked, we had all been expecting to have to scope through a distant
flock of grebes to pick out the one with pale flanks and orange bill, but this
one swam right past us giving us all splendid views of every field mark. Not to
mention the gorgeous backdrop of sage-brush grasslands butting up against rocky
cliffs, all reflected in the dark, glassy surface of Banks Lake. Not
surprisingly, ROCK WRENS chimed in from the rocky outcrops nearby, and we were
all ready for another celebratory lunch! For this we headed through Electric
City and into the historic town of Grand Coulee, home of the Grand Coulee Dam.
After lunch the remaining cars headed back to Princeton at
their own paces. A few new birds were
added to the trip list such as BLACK SWIFT and GOLDEN EAGLE, but mostly we just
continued directly back to Princeton where the rest of us had left our cars.
For those last few hours we soaked in the lovely scenery that is the Okanagan
and Similkameen Valleys in springtime.
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| Clark's Grebe (Photo: Val George) |
I’m sure everyone was a little worn out after the long 3.5
days of birding (added to the long weekend of the conference and the
pre-conference fieldtrip for some), but I also suspect that we all returned to
our separate lives with the glow of another great birding adventure. Looking
back on the trip list, it’s hard to believe we fit that all into those few days!
Until next time,
Russell Cannings
**And big thank you
to Les Gyug and Art Martell who both put in a lot of work organizing the
drivers and hotel reservations**
Full species list (highlights in CAPS)—Total of 149 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow's Goldeneye
Ruddy Duck
California Quail
CHUKAR
GRAY PARTRIDGE
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
CLARK’S GREBE
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
GREAT EGRET
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
FERRUGINOUS HAWK
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
PRAIRIE FALCON
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
BLACK-NECKED STILT
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Nighthawk
Black Swift
Vaux's Swift
White-throated Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
LEWIS’S WOODPECKER
Red-naped Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
Cassin's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Black-billed Magpie
Clark's Nutcracker
American Crow
Common Raven (Including an albino
individual!)
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Swainson’s Thrush
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Gray Catbird
SAGE THRASHER
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
BOBOLINK
Red-winged Blackbird
TRICOLOURED BLACKBIRD
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Cassin's Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
House Sparrow
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