Bennington Lake After the Snow

We finally got out to walk Bennington Lake this morning after missing last week because of the weather.  Our first encounter was a NORTHERN SHRIKE chasing a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER in the cottonwoods on the south side of the lake.  There was another shrike on the northeast side.  We watched a HAIRY WOODPECKER busily working a cottonwood tree on the east side and there were several DOWNY WOODPECKERS in the same general area.  JUNCOS and ROBINS were abundant all around the lake.  There was one GREAT HORNED OWL in the trees on the east side, and several TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES scattered around the lake.  The water was frozen so we saw no waterfowl, killdeer or herons.  Early in the walk, the sun tried to come through the clouds, but the fog drifted in and we could barely see the far side of the lake when we returned to our cars.  It was nice to be out walking after several days of snow and ice.  Ginger

Tom's Turkey Trot Field Trip

 

November 20 was the Turkey Trot led by our President, Tom Scribner.  We always have a great time on this trip and this year was no exception as 17 enthusiastic birders spent the day searching for wild turkeys.  We found lots of them - in Walla Walla and Columbia counties.  Our total count was 291!  Other highlights included 10 great horned owls, a barn owl, a northern shrike, 5 varied thrushes, several huge covey of quail,  and over fifty  red-tailed hawks.  Watching the full moon come up over the wheat fields north of town was a perfect ending to a great day.  Ginger

 

Bennington Lake today

The birds were happy to see the sun this morning.  The robins, white-crowned sparrows and Townsend's solitaires were all singing.  Juncos, song sparrows, and flickers were numerous and visible.  There was a beautiful young red-tailed hawk that had a dark belly-band very dark brown and white coloring.  Twelve canada geese flew in and landed on the lake (the only waterfowl on the water).  30 killdeer, 4 long-billed dowitchers and a great blue heron were working the mud.  There was a great horned owl at the north end of the lake and a downy woodpecker so busy pecking at a gall on a rose bush that it allowed us to walk right by and get a very close up look.  On her way out of the parking lot, MerryLynn found an adult chipping sparrow (very late for them to be here).  Carolyn saw a great egret on her bicycle ride up to the lake along Mill Creek. Another great morning of birding.  Ginger

 

On another note, there are at least two eastern blue jays in Walla Walla in the area south of Bryant Street between Sturm and Durant Streets.

Snow Geese and White-fronted Geese at Bennington

As we were watching a group of AMERICAN PIPITS and a SAY'S PHOEBE on the dam at the beginning of our walk today, geese began circling overhead.  We watched as 13 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE came down and landed on the northeast corner of the lake.  Then, after circling for about five minutes, 21 SNOW GEESE flew in and landed with the other geese.  They looked tired and settled down to rest.  The calm waters and the golden color of the cottonwoods reflected on the water made it a beautiful scene.  They were still there when we finished our walk three hours later.  Fortunately there weren't dogs running on the edge of the lake this morning so the geese got to rest - at least for a few hours.  This was truly the beauty of nature at its best.  Ginger

Snow Goose at Bennington Lake

We were very happy to see a snow goose fly in with about 150 canada geese this morning on our walk.  The seasons have definitely taken a turn toward fall as was evidenced by the low number of species today.  The only remaining summer birds were 7 barn swallows.  Most of the shorebirds were gone. Only 10 long-billed dowitchers, 14 killdeer, 1 great blue heron and 1 black-bellied plover were on the mud.  Two belted kingfishers chased each other around the east side of the lake and there was a double-crested cormorant, 2 green-winged teal, 3 mallards, 3 American wigeon and a ring-necked duck on the water.  One American pipit was on the mud and a Cassin's vireo was in the willows.  White-crowned sparrows, song sparrows, juncos, black-capped chickadees and both ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets dotted the trees.  The usual flickers, downy woodpeckers, yellow-rumped warblers, Bewick's wrens and house finches were present.  It was a crisp morning and a pleasant walk.  Ginger

Ruff at Two Rivers HMU

Mike and MerryLynn found another rare migrant.  It is only the 4th record of a RUFF in Walla Walla County, and the last one was over 12 years ago.  MerryLynn called me and I drove right out to the parking area at the end of the road, and then bush wacked with her through tall grass to the muddy shoreline.  The bird was gone when I arrived, but returned about a half hour later.  How nice to have a chance to see this rare visitor to our county.  Thank you again Mike and MerryLynn for making it possible.  Ginger

Mountain Birding

 

MerryLynn and I took advantage of the beautiful fall weather today to visit the mountains before hunting season is in full swing.  We drove up Lewis Peak Road and circled around down Jasper Mountain Road.  Highlights on Jasper Mountain included a northern goshawk,a hairy woodpecker, mountain and chestnut-backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, golden crowned and ruby crowned kinglets, juncos, flickers and yellow-rumped warblers.  On Jasper Mountain we found western bluebirds, pygmy nuthatches, a golden-crowned sparrow, and a golden eagle,  along with spotted towhees,  chipping and white-crowned sparrows, robins and  more kinglets, yellow-rumped warblers and chickadees.  It was nice to enjoy the beauty of the mountains one more time.  Ginger