Bennington Lake today

Migrants continue to move through.  Today we had several American pipits, a Townsend's warbler, a Lincoln's sparrow several yellow-rumped warblers and three greater yellowlegs. There were good numbers of downy woodpeckers and red-shafted flickers along with one yellow-shafted flicker.  The osprey made a few passes over the water and flew on.  Two western grebes and a ruddy duck joined the usual waterfowl.  About 80 canada geese were eating in the wheat stubble north of the lake and about half of them eventually came down to the lake.  A sharp-shinned hawk and a kestrel had a little altercation before the sharpie flew away.  Ruby-crowned kinglets and black-capped chickadees were busy eating berries.  It was a beautiful walk with fall colors, a crispness in the air and the sounds of birds everywhere.  Ginger

Bennington Lake Sept 16

Interesting birds seen on this week's Tuesday walk were Lincoln's sparrow, white-throated sparrow (both at the south end of the lake) and the first Townsend's solitaire of the fall.

Ginger

Sept. 6 Field Trip Results

Mike and MerryLynn Denny led us on another successful search for fall migrants during our first field trip of the fall. We found them on Detour Road, Byrnes Road, the Walla Walla River Delta, Two Rivers HMU and Hood Park.  The Delta was high so there were no shorebirds, but we were able to see 6 species of gulls and common terns.  We also got a quick look at a parasitic jaeger chasing a gull along the Columbia River.  At Hood Park we watched several very cooperative Nashville warblers and orange-crowned warblers.  On Byrnes Road they found us a clay-colored sparrow.  After the trip ended, our car drove out to McDonald Road where alfalfa seed cutting was in full swing. We watched 30+ Swainson's hawks and several red-tailed hawks soaring all around us in one field.  The Dennys left us and headed for Windust Park where they made their fantastic discovery of the variegated flycatcher.

 

Highlights of the trip:

Franklin's gull - Walla Walla River Delta

Western gull - Walla Walla River Delta

Common terns - Walla Walla River Delta

Parasitic jaeger - Columbia River north of Boise Cascade plant

Red-necked phalaropes - Mile Post 300 on Highway 12

Solitary sandpiper - Mill Post 300 on Highway 12

Greater and lesser yellowlegs - Mill Post 300 on Highway 12

Great egrets - Walla Walla River Delta

Swainson's hawks - Detour Road, McDonald Road

Eurasian collared doves - Touchet, WA

Olive-sided flycatcher - Lowden/Gardena Road, Hood Park

Nashville warblers - Hood Park

Orange-crowned warblers - Hood Park

Clay-colored sparrow - Byrnes Road

NOT Piratic but Variegated

Well the flycatcher at Windust Park has been positively id'd this am and it is in fact a Variegated Flycatcher - only the 2nd or 3rd record for North America - and the first in the Western USA. Get up there if you can for a look at this megararity!!

MerryLynn

 

PIRATIC FLYCATCHER

After our Blue Mountain Audubon Field Trip on Sept. 6 Mike and I headed to Windust Park in Franklin county where I spotted a probable Piratic Flycatcher (from south America!). It may still be there today and lots of folks are headed there to get a look. We first called it a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher which is from AZ but after studying and reading field guides we changed our minds. Photos have been sent to experts and we are awaiting results. Just never know what you might find when you go birding!!! MerryLynn

 

Bennington Lake today

Migrants are beginning to move through.  We saw Wilson's, orange crowned, yellow-rumped and Nashville warblers.  Swallows over the lake included bank, barn, violet green and rough-winged.  There were also several Vaux's swifts.  Waterfowl numbers were up also - canada geese, mallards, northern shovelers, American wigeons, green winged teal and a western grebe.  Shorebirds are still scarce, but we did see a solitary sandpiper and several killdeer. (There are more shorebirds on the Mill Creek trail - lesser and greater yellowlegs, spotted sandpipers, solitary sandpipers). The white-crowned sparrows are beginning to return - we saw five today.  We also saw a Brewer's sparrow and four spotted towhees.  House finches and goldfinches were everywhere - in the sunflower patches, in the Russian olives, and flitting back and forth all around the lake.  All in all it was a good day with 47 species seen by the group.

Ginger