Swainson's Hawks and More

The Swainson's hawks are gathering in the fields south of Walla Walla getting ready for their long trek south.  Look for them on Frog Hollow, Stateline and all the connecting roads out there.  They are soaring, sitting on poles, and on the ground.  It's a great opportunity to see the differences in immature and adult birds, also dark and light morphs. 

 

Other birds of note this weekend seen around Walla Walla:

 

Hundreds of Vaux's swifts at twilight coming into the chimney on 8th Street in College Place

Many, many yellow rumped warblers all over town and out in the countryside – especially in the Russian olives.

Savannah sparrow flocks on Stateline and Frog Hollow

White-fronted geese at Mile Post 300 along Highway 12 between Wallula and Hood Park

 

Time to get out and see migration!

 

Yellow-rumped warblers

On our walk this morning we watched yellow-rumped warbler migration in full swing.  We counted 27 of them, and I'm sure we missed several.  How fun to watch them darting here and there!  There were still lots of barn swallows over the water and 3 dunlin on the mud.  Three dark-eyed juncos were hopping around on the grass when we returned to our cars (winter birds coming back!)  The wind kept a lot of the birds down so our numbers weren't as high as they are some weeks.  Most of the summer birds have left though so species numbers were also lower (24 species today).