Bennington Lake Today

It was a bit breezy, the lake is still frozen, and it started to rain a little before we got around the lake. In spite of all those adverse factors, it was a nice walk and we saw quite a few birds (mostly juncos and sparrows).  We did find four great horned owls which is always nice.  There were no Townsend's solitaires today and only a handful of robins.  Raptors included Cooper's hawk, American kestrel, red-tailed hawk and northern harrier.  The downy woodpeckers were busy working the galls on the rose bushes.  We saw a total of 22 species.  Ginger

WALLA WALLA 2011 CBC RESULTS

Count week is over and the results are in on our Christmas Bird Count.  The spotted sandpiper was a new bird for the count. Steller's jay and varied thrush were missing from the count for the first time.  Total numbers were down from previous years – both number of species (71) and total number of birds(12,029) .  This was probably due to the weather conditions – dense fog for everyone who was below 1100 feet (which was most of us).  A big thank you to Mike and MerryLynn for organizing the count.  Below is the list.  Ginger

 

Canada goose – 1445

Wood duck – 24

American wigeon – 236

Mallard – 581

Green-winged teal – 3

Ring-necked duck – 2

Bufflehead – 2

Common goldeneye – 3

Hooded merganser – 47

Common merganser – 98

Ring-necked pheasant – 42

Ruffed grouse – 2

Wild turkey – 117

California quail – 98

Great blue heron – 13

Northern harrier – 7

Sharp-shinned hawk – 8

Cooper's hawk – 8

Red-tailed hawk – 61

American kestrel – 68

Merlin – 2

American coot – 20

Killdeer – 8

Spotted sandpiper – 1

Wilson's snipe – 2

Rock pigeon – 126

Eurasian collared dove – 120

Mourning dove – 105

Western screech owl – cw

Great horned owl – 16

Anna's hummingbird – 1

Belted kingfisher – 12

Downy woodpecker – 40

Hairy woodpecker – 3

Northern flicker – 225

Northern shrike – 6

Black-billed magpie – 232

American crow – 195

Common raven – 16

Horned lark – 15

Black-capped chickadee – 133

Chestnut-backed chickadee – 3

Red-breasted nuthatch – 4

Brown creeper – 1

Bewick's wren – 40

Pacific wren – 4

American dipper – 2

Golden-crowned kinglet – 30

Ruby-crowned kinglet – 32

Townsend's solitaire – 7

Hermit thrush – 1

American robin – 111

European starling – 3781

American pipit – 1

Bohemian waxwing – 13

Cedar waxwing – 102

Yellow-rumped warbler – 3

Spotted towhee – 5

American tree sparrow – cw

Fox sparrow – 1

Song sparrow – 248

White-crowned sparrow – 490

Dark-eyed junco – 1446

Dark-eyed junco (slate colored) – 3

Western meadowlark – 8

Cassin's finch – cw

House finch – 479

Common redpoll – cw

Pine siskin – 40

American goldfinch – 260

House sparrow – 771

 

 

Tree sparrow and common redpolls

The sun came out, the fog went away, and the path got muddy.  But it was worth it because this morning on our Tuesday morning walk we saw a tree sparrow at Bennington Lake.  It was in the middle of the sunflower patch along with dozens of white-crowned sparrows, juncos, and song sparrows. Standing guard above the patch on a kestrel box was a sharp-shinned hawk.  After the hawk flew away to chase some white-crowned sparrows in the rose bushes, the tree sparrow came back up and sat on top of a weed.  While we were watching the sparrow, a flock of 21 common redpolls flew overhead and landed in the trees nearby.  We saw a total of 25 species for the day.  Ginger

Long-tailed Duck

There is a long-tailed duck hanging out near the old bridge at Wallula Junction.  It can usually be seen by walking out on the bridge, but keep watching because it spends more time under water than it does above.  It was first spotted by a group of birders from Ellensburg on December 11, and has been seen the past two days by local birders.  Also, the snowy owl is still being seen along Gardena Road in the area where it intersects Burlingame Road and Barnes Road (it moves around).  This is most likely the same bird that was seen in November off Highway 12 just west of Touchet.  Ginger

Snowy Owl

There was a snowy owl sighting on December 17 in the area or Gardena Road and Burlingame Road.  That is south of Touchet a few miles.  I'm not sure if it is the same bird that was seen along Highway 12 just west of Touchet, or a new bird.  Ginger

Snowy Owl

There is a SNOWY OWL l in a field just to the south of Highway 12 between Touchet and Byrnes Road.  It was there all day today.

 

Unfortunately the farmer who owns the field is putting down poison in furrows in the field.  Hopefully the owl will be spooked by the tractor and move to another field.  Look for it closer to Touchet, or along Byrnes Road if you don't find it where it was seen today.   Ginger

Saw-whet owl at Bennington Lake

We saw a northern saw-whet owl at Bennington Lake this morning.  It was in the pine trees on the east side where we have seen them before.  The other notable sighting was a winter wren.  It's been several years since we've seen one at the lake.  Lots of the usual winter birds - juncos, song sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, ruby-crowned kinglets, chickadees, flickers and downy woodpeckers.  Raptors included 1 red-tailed hawk, 2 northern harriers and 1 kestrel. Waterfowl was sparse – a common goldeneye, 3 western grebes, 3 northern shovelers, 2 northern pintails and 3 green-winged teal.  We only saw one Townsend's solitaire today.  We saw a total of 28 species this morning on our sunny, but somewhat chilly walk.  The leaves are mostly off the trees, but it's still a beautiful place to be.  Ginger

Turkey Trot Field Trip Results

We started with wind and sun and ended with wind and rain.  Nevertheless, we saw 235 wild turkeys.  Seventy of those were in Walla Walla County and the remainder were in Columbia County south of Dayton.  We enjoyed watching them walk and fly across the road in front of us.  We noted that several of them were quite small and wondered if they were this year's hatch.  Several landed in the trees and many more gobbled along under the brush.  Other highlights of the trip were 6 great horned owls and 2 northern shrikes.  We commented on the low numbers of birds (we only saw 23 species) and wondered if the weather change had them hunkered down. It was a fun outing and I look forward to going again next year.  Ginger

Bennington Lake Birds

We enjoyed a sunny walk around the lake this morning.  When we arrived there were 6 common mergansers on the water along with canada geese, American wigeons, mallards, western grebes and a belted kingfisher.  Along the shore were 8 killdeer, a great blue heron and a greater yellowlegs.  Juncos were abundant.  There were also black-capped chickadees, ruby-crowned kinglets, Bewick's wrens, song sparrows, white-crowned sparrows and a red-breasted nuthatch.  Several yellow-rumped warblers were enjoying the insects in the cottonwoods on the east side.  Two great horned owls were snoozing in the trees on the east side of the canal.  We saw several Townsend's solitaires, downy woodpeckers and flickers scattered around the lake.  The leaves were still crisp as we walked through them on the trail, adding to the enjoyment of being outside on such a beautiful day.  Ginger

Townsend's solitaires have arrived

We saw three Townsend's solitaires on our walk this morning at Bennington Lake.  Other birds of note were 13 bufflehead, 2 belted kingfishers, a northern harrier, a sharp-shinned hawk  and a northern shrike.  It was a beautiful crisp sunny morning – much better than the fog last week. Total species seen today was 34.  Ginger

 

Bennington Lake Field Trip

Fifteen of us enjoyed a leisurely walk around the lake – taking in the beautiful fall colors and enjoying the birds.  We were very excited to find four snow geese on the lake.  They didn't stay long, but flew off over our heads.  The other great bird was a northern shrike – the first of the season at the lake.  Because Paul Treman carries his scope with him, everyone got nice looks at both species and several other species.  At the Audubon meeting on Thursday night, Tom promised that we would see at least 20 species.  The pressure was on, but in the end we saw 23 species and heard another two.  Returning to the parking lot, the trail was covered with leaves and the wind picked up, blowing leaves through the air. Several commented on the beauty and tranquility of a fall day, and agreed that Bennington Lake is one of the nicest places to enjoy nature at this special time of year. Ginger

Fog and Boulders at Bennington Lake today

The fog was like pea soup.  We could hear canada geese on the water, but we couldn't see them.  Finally, we found 75 of them along the south shore.  The little birds were very quiet in the fog, so we struggled to find them.  Then, we arrived at "Cayuse Falls" to find huge trucks dumping big boulders into the canal.  A nice man from the Corp of Engineers told us they are shoring up the canal there to make sure it doesn't erode.  The good news is that the work should be done before our Field Trip on Saturday.  Instead of retracing our tracks we took the high trail back to the parking lot and saw lots of sparrows and finches in the sunflower patch.  We also saw an immature sharp-shinned hawk that appeared to be posing for us in the top of a dead tree.  Doubtless, it was looking for its next meal, but we enjoyed the good view.  When we got back to the lake we could see the geese again and four western grebes.  There didn't appear to be any other waterfowl on the water.  Just another morning walk at Bennington Lake....you never know what you'll find. Ginger

Thrushes at Bennington Lake

We were rained out on Tuesday (although we did go up there and saw an osprey while we were sitting in our cars).  Today was much better.  The highlight was seeing two hermit thrushes and five varied thrushes along with about 20 robins. There were numerous waterfowl – shovelers, wigeons, mallards, gadwall, western grebes, green-winged teal and even a ruddy duck. The canal was filled with noisy white-crowned sparrows, song sparrows and American goldfinches.  Flickers were everywhere and downy woodpeckers popped up all along the trail.  Nice to see the birds out after the rain.  We heard a coyote singing, and then saw it running across the wheat fields.  Ginger

Bennington Lake - waterfowl and migrants

Our walk started out a little drippy with very few birds, but the rain quit and we ended up seeing a nice variety of birds.  Waterfowl included western grebes, ruddy ducks, mallards, American wigeons, northern shovelers and a lone pied-billed grebe.  A single Forster's tern hunted the lake, dipping and swirling over the water.  White-crowned sparrows were plentiful as they have been for a couple weeks, and they were joined by a golden-crowned sparrow.  We had a quick glimpse at three evening grosbeaks, but a Lincoln's sparrow sat on top of a shrub, giving us good looks.  There were two red-naped sapsuckers today, an orange-crowned warbler and a common yellowthroat.  Finally, at the parking lot we saw two Cassin's vireos.  We ended up with 35 species today – not bad considering the less than ideal weather.  Ginger

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

Cooper's hawks at Bennington Lake

Two juvenile Cooper's hawks spent the morning harassing all the little birds up and down the canal and out over the sunflower patches.  At one point they scared up flocks of house finches and goldfinches, a great horned owl and a flicker. 

 

Summer is definitely winding down at the lake.  A few yellow warblers, house wrens, gray catbirds, eastern kingbirds and western wood peewees remain, but many of the other summer birds have left.  We saw a nice variety of swallows and Vaux's swifts over the water.  At the parking lot was a molting yellow-rumped warbler – another sign of the change in the seasons.   Ginger

Birdy Bennington Lake

This was the day for babies – young fledglings everywhere – house wrens, yellow warblers, Bullock's orioles, black-headed grosbeaks, robins, rough-winged swallows, bank swallows.  We also had more shorebirds today – seven western sandpipers and three least sandpipers, a greater yellowlegs and a long-billed dowitcher.  A Caspian tern was circling the lake when we arrived at the parking lot.  We had high counts of house wrens (26), yellow warblers (36) and robins (36) and a total of 49 species for the day.  The best part of our morning walk was the fact that it was cloudy and cool!  It's been an unusual summer with no scorching hot mornings so far, and I would be happy if it stayed that way.  Ginger

Bennington Lake Today

We are beginning to see and hear young birds.  This morning we found young Bullock's orioles, yellow warblers and house wrens.  We also found a western wood peewee nest with mom sitting on eggs.  We had our first shorebird other than the killdeer and spotted sandpipers that nest at the lake.  It was a long-billed dowitcher.  Hopefully with the water level continuing to go down, we will see more shorebirds as they come back through.  We saw and/or heard 44 species today.  It was a very pleasant morning for walking – not too hot with a little breeze to help us keep cool.  Ginger

Bennington Lake today

You know summer has arrived when you go from shade to shade as you walk around the lake.  That's what we did today....

There wasn't anything new today, but it was very birdy. We saw a total of 44 species. The cliff swallows were noticeably absent.  We only saw one instead of 50, so they must be done nesting.  We did find a black-chinned hummingbird on a nest, which is always exciting, but we didn't see the calliope today.  There was one osprey, a double-crested cormorant and a great blue heron.  A pied-billed grebe was hiding in the logs along the east shore, and there were a few mallards and the canada goose family.  We got good looks at a very noisy yellow-breasted chat.  Another good day of birding!   Ginger

Bennington Lake this morning

It's the first day of summer and finally it looks like it!  The sun was shining, it was warm, there was no wind, and we didn't have to wade across the canal.

The birds seemed to be enjoying the warm weather as well.  We saw 46 species today including a Caspian tern, a golden eagle, our first house wren babies (still in a hole in a snag) and a young great horned owl just starting to get it's adult feathers, but mostly still downy fuzz.  No osprey today, but a great blue heron and a double-crested cormorant were having a slight argument over who got to sit on the osprey's snag in the southeast corner of the lake.  We were surprised to find three common mergansers enjoying the sun on a log. Each week now should bring more activity with young hatching and then fledging.  It's a good time to take a walk around the lake to see and hear the birds.  Ginger

Wildflower Field Trip

June 18 was Priscilla's wildflower trip to the Blue Mountains.  It was spitting rain when we left Walla Walla, and by the time we got to our first stop it was raining hard.  Also, the clouds were very low so there was heavy fog.  Many of the roads we hoped to visit are still under snow, so a lot of the plants are just beginning to show life.  After about an hour, most of us bailed and headed back to Walla Walla.  Priscilla, Laura Meier and Markie McCrae stuck it out.  They saw 50 wildflower species and 8 shrub species.

 

We will try again on July 9.  Hopefully by then we will be able to get up Summit Road, Coyote Ridge and Target Meadows.

 

It's been a strange spring, but today is the first day of summer so I am optimistic about our second trip.  Come and join the fun.  Ginger

Bennington Lake on Tuesday

The summer birds are very busy now at the lake.  One of the female orioles has decided that tinsel from the Christmas tree pile makes for very festive nest building material.  Yellow-breasted chats, western wood peewees, Bullock's orioles, yellow warblers, house wrens and eastern kingbirds were the most active and vocal birds on our walk.  Two osprey are still fishing the lake, but where are they nesting?  The concrete structure in the lake is jammed with cliff swallow nests and the northern rough-winged swallows are busy in the parking lot bank.  Tree swallows are using the nest boxes we put up a few years ago.  Gray catbirds twitter from the scrubs and one finally popped up so we could see it.  We saw a total of 42 species. 

Birds Being Seen

During the past week I have received interesting bird reports from many of you.  Here are some of the birds seen:

 

Larry Duffield had a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER visit his yard on Seaman Road.  He also has WESTERN BLUEBIRDS nesting in boxes he has put up on his property.

 

Nancy Mitchell watched a flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS at the Whitman College Alumni House.

 

Pam Fisher continues to enjoy her nesting WESTERN SCREECH OWLS.

 

Diane Reed saw CEDAR WAXWINGS and a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON at Lions Park in College Place.

 

Carolyn Corvino still has nesting COOPER'S HAWKS in one of her trees, despite the street being torn up.

 

Jim and Sue Parrish found three baby BARN OWLS on Berney Drive.

 

Rodger and I found WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and GRAY CATBIRDS on Seaman Road.

 

Mike and MerryLynn Denny found GREAT GRAY OWL chicks on Jasper Mountain.

 

Bennington Lake today

The weather was a mixed bag this morning – sun, then thunder and lightning, a little hail, a little rain, and then more sun.  The wind came roaring through with the storm, but that only lasted about ten minutes and the rest of the walk was pleasant.  We saw our first western wood peewee of the season, plus eastern and western kingbirds, Bullock's orioles, black-headed grosbeaks, yellow warblers, house wrens and more.  There were at least two very noisy gray catbirds, but they did a good job of hiding from us.  Along the canal we found an adult canada goose with four goslings.  The goslings were almost as big as the adult so we missed them earlier.  Two noisy osprey circled the lake continuously and were joined by northern rough-winged, cliff and tree swallows.  A pair of spotted sandpipers and two Vaux's swifts added to the mix.  It was nice to have all the birds singing, and even nicer to not have wind for the first time in weeks!  Ginger

Coppei Creek Field Trip

Twelve hardy souls met South Coppei Creek Road at 7:00 a.m. for a leisurely walk led by Joe Corvino. It was cold and windy, but the sun was out and the birds were singing. We saw yellow warblers, lazuli buntings, black-headed grosbeaks, western tanagers and several other birds.  We heard, but didn't see, veery, fox sparrow and warbling vireo. Our total species count for the day was 29.  No flycatchers yet, but they are sure to arrive any day now.  I would recommend walking the this road again in a couple weeks and I'm sure more birds will be in.  Ginger

Birds at Bennington Lake

We saw our first killdeer chick today on the dam.  There were quite a few ducks on the water - ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, gadwall, mallards and eared grebes.  Five osprey spent the morning flying around the lake.  One of them had a fish, but it never landed to eat it.  We were wondering if this is some sort of courting behavior.  Summer migrants today included Bullock's orioles, western tanagers, MacGillivray's warblers, lazuli buntings,a Wilson's warbler and one black-headed grosbeak.  Of course the house wrens and yellow warblers were there in good numbers, serenading us with their songs.  We heard a yellow-breasted chat, but couldn't locate it.

 

Over the weekend, a group from the Tri-Cities found a juvenile northern saw-whet owl along the trail.  We looked , but couldn't relocate it.  They also found a green-tailed towhee on Biscuit Ridge and lesser goldfinches new Tom Lamb's place.

 

The birds are trickling in, but there hasn't been a great influx of summer migrants.   Ginger

Bluebird Field Trip Results

We saw 67 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS on our trip south of Pomeroy.  We checked out over 40 boxes and only two of them had not been used last year.  I'd say that is a very good indication that Tom's boxes are successful.  We also enjoyed seeing several VESPER SPARROWS and got to listen to their pretty song.  There were CHIPPING SPARROWS and HORNED LARKS all along the high open areas and many RED-TAILED HAWKS and NORTHERN HARRIERS. On the way home we saw GREAT HORNED OWL chicks and their parents in several locations.  Probably the most unexpected find was a ROCK WREN on a very small rock pile in an area that didn't look like rock wren habitat at all.  We saw a total of 37 species. In addition, we saw several early wildflowers - fields of grass widows and lomatium, a a few balsam root, yellow bells, prairie smoke and buttercups.   It was fun to be up on top of the world looking down into canyons and out over the horizon to Steptoe Butte, the Blues, and all the valleys to the west.  Ginger 

Summer Birds at Bennington Lake

Finally, the summer migrants are coming in.  New today were spotted sandpiper, calliope hummingbird, barn swallow, orange-crowned warbler, yellow warbler, Townsend's warbler, house wren and chipping sparrow.  There were lots of yellow-rumped warblers and several western kingbirds, both of which returned in late April.  One horned grebe in breeding plumage was on the water, and a turkey vulture flew over the parking lot.  There were many violet-green swallows and cliff swallows, plus a few tree swallows and northern rough-winged swallows.  One Townsend's solitaire was still hanging around as were many white-crowned sparrows and American goldfinches.  We had 43 total species today so species numbers are picking up.

 

On another note, several people reported lazuli buntings in their yards yesterday.  Cassin's finches and evening grosbeaks are still around town also.  Watch your backyards and you may be surprised what you find at your feeders this time of year.  Ginger

Hummingbirds are back!

Finally - the hummers are coming in.  I've had reports from several people and we had both rufous and calliope hummingbirds in our yard yesterday afternoon.  Get those feeders up if you haven't already because the little guys will be hungry and there aren't too many scrubs and perennials blooming yet.  Ginger

Common Loon at Bennington Lake

Today on our walk, we saw a common loon in breeding plumage along the canal.  It was first reported on April 24 by Matt Beatty.  They are a rare visitor to the lake during spring migration.  We also saw four western kingbirds.  The kingbirds were the only new spring arrivals, probably because of the cold, windy weather we are having.  There were several hundred swallows over the lake, mostly violet-green and cliff with a few tree mixed in. The great horned owls in the canal have three chicks. Hopefully next week will be warmer and we will have some new birds!  Ginger

Birds on the Move

It's time to watch your backyard feeders for migrating birds.  We have had a big change in activity in our yard the past week.  Goldfinches are abundant, white-crowned sparrow numbers are way up and we've had seven Cassin's finches and two evening grosbeaks for several days.  A Lincoln's sparrow  came in to feed yesterday.  Take a good look at your sparrows and you may find a white-throated sparrow or a golden-crowned sparrow in with the white-crowns and house sparrows.  And it's time to get your hummingbird feeders up - they will arrive any day!  MerryLynn and I saw American avocets and black-necked stilts at three locations yesterday - the Wallula Junction Overlook, the Walla Walla River Delta and Northshore Millet ponds.  The Delta also has a large number of Caspian terns.  There were cinnamon teals at the millet ponds and at the little pond past the barn owl cuts on Dodd Road.  Here come the birds........it will only get better from now on.  Ginger

Owl chicks and a new bird for Bennington Lake

We found great horned owl chicks in two locations this morning on our walk.  It's always exciting to know the owls have brought off young.

We also saw a pair of Eurasian collared doves in the cottonwoods along the south side of the lake.  They are common in the Walla Walla area now, but this is the first time we have seen them at the lake.  The lake was very high today and it was full of waterfowl - mallards, shovelers, wigeons, green-winged teals, ring-necked ducks, common goldeneyes, buffleheads and coots. Above them were tons of swallows -  tree, cliff and violet green mostly, with a couple northern-rough winged. Three osprey soared high above the lake but we only saw one northern harrier today.  Three Lincoln's sparrows were a pleasant surprise, and yellow-rumped warblers in bright breeding plumage were singing in the trees.  The water was gushing over "Cayuse Falls" again, so three of us walked up to the diversion dam at Rooks Park to avoid getting our feet and legs wet.  We were treated with an American dipper and a pair of common mergansers at the dam.  The water is so high at the lake that there is no mud for shorebirds.  Last week we saw 29 greater yellowlegs on a small strip of mud, but today the only shorebirds were a pair of killdeer fussing at us from the rocks on the dam.  Every week should bring more birds back.  I can hardly wait for the warblers and other summer passerines to return!  Ginger

Palouse Falls Field Trip

Joe Corvino led the trip to see the mighty muddy Palouse River crashing over the cliffs at Palouse Falls State Park.  It was an awesome sight watching the spring runoff roaring down toward the Snake River.  We found a peregrine falcon on the cliff face across from the picnic area, although we didn't see its mate.  There were several white-throated swifts and violet-green swallows swirling around and a steady stream of people coming in to view the falls. Raptors enjoying the thermals along the route included red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, American kestrels, two rough-legged hawks and a Swainson's hawk.  We saw three great horned owls on nests along Highway 12 east of Dayton.  Western meadowlarks were abundant, their beautiful song reminding us that it's spring.  It was a great trip.  Ginger

Big Birds at Bennington

The wind was howling as we walked around Bennington Lake this morning, so the little birds were all hunkered down and hard to find.  In spite of the weather we saw some nice birds.  The OSPREY was there and an adult BALD EAGLE circled overhead.  A pair of NORTHERN HARRIERS glided by and three RED-TAILED HAWKS soared high above the dam.  Along the canal was a WILD TURKEY and a RING-NECKED PHEASANT.  The lake actually had white caps on it, but we did find four MALLARDS and a pair of LESSER SCAUP.  VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS were too numerous to count and there were a few TREE SWALLOWS mixed in.   The sun was out so we put up with the wind and enjoyed our walk.  Ginger

More osprey

There was an osprey standing on the nest just east of Lowden along Highway 12 today.  There was another one checking out the new platform a little further east of the first one.  We saw red-tailed hawks and great horned owls on nests in several locations and eight long-billed curlews east of Wallula.  It's a beautiful 70 degrees out and sunny.  Could spring finally be here!!   Ginger

Osprey at Bennington Lake

The osprey is back at Bennington Lake.  We saw it this morning on our weekly walk.  There is water in the lake now and there were a few mallards, wigeons and canada geese.  Tree swallows and a violet-green swallow were circling over the bench that overlooks the lake.  There was still a northern shrike and four Townsend's solitaires - I imagine they will be off to their nesting sights soon.  The birds were all singing today - even a ruby-crowned kinglet, and we watched a black-capped chickadee excavating a hole in a snag.  We saw a beautiful pair of kestrels, a pair of northern harriers and a rough-legged hawk.  Even though it was windy, the warm temperatures made for a very pleasant walk.  Every week should bring in more birds now - I love spring!   Ginger

Sandhill Crane Festival Field Trip

Thirteen of us traveled up to Othello for the crane festival on March 26.  On the way up we saw burrowing owls off Highway 12 and more on Highway 395 past Pasco. We saw over 2000 sandhill cranes throughout the day, mostly in the Scooteney Reservoir area and along Lower Crab Creek.  The other highlight of the trip was a leucistic robin on Coyan Road near Scooteney Reservoir.  It was a good trip up and fun to be at the festival again.  Hopefully it will continue for many years to come.    Ginger

Snow Geese

For those of you who may not know, there are several thousand snow geese at McNary NWR.  They are normally seen east of the headquarters either in the air or on the ponds that are further out to the east from the road that intersects the ponds.  If you haven't seen that many snow geese in flight, it's worth the trip over there to watch.  The skies in the area and the ponds are also full of canada geese (probably over 10,000) and several hundred white-fronted geese.  Ginger

Waterfowl at Bennington Lake

Finally, the waterfowl are coming in to the lake.  Today we saw 47 mallards, 2 green-winged teal, 14 northern pintails, 67 common mergansers, 2 canada geese and 3 white-fronted geese.  There were 2 great blue herons on the shore and 2 killdeer.  There were two evening grosbeaks north of "Cayuse Falls" in the cottonwoods. Nothing else out of the ordinary to report.  The Townsend's solitaires are still there and so is one northern shrike.

 

It was actually a pleasant walk this morning.  After the strong winds and all the rain yesterday, it was a pleasant surprise to have very little wind and even a little sunshine peaking through the clouds.      Ginger

Spring is Coming to Bennington Lake

 

The most noticeable spring arrival was a western meadowlark serenading us with his beautiful song from the top of a pine tree.  A few mallards were back on the lake with the usual common mergansers, four ring-billed gulls circled the lake and came down for a look, two killdeer were along the shore, a hairy woodpecker was busy cleaning out a hole in a tall snag, a turkey vulture flew overhead and a female northern harrier was harassing a young red-tailed hawk that must have been in her territory.  A few early shrubs were beginning to show some green and the willow branches are all turning color.  There may be snow a few miles away, but the lake is beginning to look like spring.          Ginger

 

Winter Raptor Field Trip

Nineteen enthusiastic birders went out looking for wintering raptors on February 12.  The weather was balmy and a little breezy, but we saw some very nice birds.  Watching two golden eagles soaring above the fields near Clyde was certainly a highlight.  Later another golden eagle was seen being harassed by several common ravens.  At least a dozen long-eared owls were seen in one spot, and a lone bird was found sitting in a deserted tree (not where you would expect to see a long-eared owl).  We also saw 3 great horned owls and one barn owl.  We watched a beautiful prairie falcon in flight and then were able to get great views with our scopes of it sitting in a tree.  Rounding out the raptors seen for the day were 44 red-tailed hawks, 23 American kestrels, and 4 northern harriers.  It was a fun day of birding and I want to thank everyone for helping to spot some wonderful birds.   Ginger

Coyotes at Bennington

It was cold and sunny for our Tuesday walk today.  The lake was mostly frozen, but 20 common mergansers found a little open water to swim in.  The little birds were generally quiet when we started our walk, but the black-capped chickadees began to sing by the time we were on the lower trail heading back to the parking lot.  No owls today, but we didn't spend much time searching for them.  A downy woodpecker and a hairy woodpecker were busy getting food right in front of us along the west side trail, giving us a great chance to see the differences in the two species.  However, the most exciting sight of the day was watching two yipping coyotes in the fields.  They were quite vocal and we could hear them for some time.  There were also four unconcerned deer in the same vicinity.  Another fun outing for all of us.  Ginger

Bennington Lake today

 

Birding started out slow for the Bennington Lake Tuesday walkers today, but picked up after the rain quit and the birds came out.  We watched a Cooper's hawk harassing a long-eared owl, got great looks at a pair of great horned owls, and enjoyed several black-capped chickadees, downy woodpeckers, ruby-crowned kinglets and a Bewick's wren all pecking at the galls on the rose bushes.  Male common mergansers dotted the lake with their black and white plumage, while the females swan alongside looking rather regal with their deep rusty crested heads. A flock of goldfinches flew into a tree along the canal and we were surprised at how bright yellow they were.  Some even had their black foreheads.  Could spring really be coming?  It was a little muddy in spots but all-in-all it was a good walk.    Ginger 

Waterfowl, Gulls and Eagles Field Trip

Thirteen of us joined Mike and MerryLynn for a great day of birding on the west side of the county on January 8.  It was cold and sunny, but there was a stiff wind along the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  Highlights were a FERRUGINOUS HAWK on Byrnes Road, a flock of SNOW GEESE flying high above McNary NWR, a close-up fly by of a TUNDRA SWAN at McNary NWR Headquarters, several BALD EAGLES sitting on the ice along the Columbia River and a bright white ball in the sky at Ice Harbor Dam that we learned later (after Chris Howard did some research on the internet) was VENUS.  We even got to do a little "four wheeling" in the mud at the Wallula Grain Terminal! We saw a total of 24 species of waterfowl and five species of gulls.  Our total species count for the day was 61.  Ginger