Field Trip Highlights

Mike and MerryLynn took 17 of us to the west side of Walla Walla County today to look for migrants.  Wind and high water kept the shorebird sightings down, but we still saw some nice birds.  The best bird of the day was a black-throated gray warbler, closely followed by a hybrid red-breasted/red-naped sapsucker.  Both were at Hood Park.  Other warblers seen during the day were MacGillivrary's, Nashville, Wilson's, orange-crowned and yellow-rumped.  On the water, other than the usual ducks and geese, was a red-necked grebe and a common loon.  It was a great trip with a total of 74 species seen.  Thanks, Mike and MerryLynn for another great outing. Ginger

Bennington Lake Today

There were two Cassin's vireos at Bennington Lake this morning on our walk.  Other migrants included a Wilson's warbler, an orange-crowned warbler, a warbling vireo, two Lincoln's sparrows and three yellow-rumped warblers.  Two osprey circled the lake and a belted kingfisher patrolled the shoreline.  There were canada geese, mallards, green-winged teal, northern pintails, ring-billed gulls and a pied-billed grebe on the water.  Downy woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees and Bewick's wrens were plentiful, and a spotted towhee popped up along the trail. Now that the sunflower seeds are ripe, house finches and goldfinches were abundant.  White-crowned sparrow numbers were up (25). The total number of species seen is dropping (36 today) with the change in the season. The change in the season can also be seen in the trees and shrubs.  They are dry and stressed now, but soon the rains will come, their leaves will fall, and winter will arrive – bringing a new season of birds to the lake.  Ginger

Great Egrets at Bennington Lake

We saw 9 great egrets along the canal this morning as we were returning to the parking lot.  What a beautiful sight!  Four great blue herons were with them.  Other interesting birds included a semi-palmated plover, 2 Lincoln's sparrows, a vesper sparrow, a Brewer's sparrow, a Hammond's flycatcher, one osprey and 2 great horned owls.  Most of the summer migrants are gone – we only heard a few house wrens, one gray catbird, and a few western wood peewees.  However, we did have a nice assortment of sparrows.  In addition to the ones already mentioned, there were 9 white-crowned sparrows and 30 chipping sparrows.  MerryLynn saw the first fall junco on the trail below the parking lot.  Goldfinches and house finches were abundant and there were still some swallows and swifts over the lake.  We saw or heard 42 species this morning – not bad for a hot, dry morning walk.  Ginger