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