Foster Road Field Trip

Fifteen people enjoyed a leisurely walk along Foster Road this morning.  Yellow-breasted chats and gray catbirds were very accommodating.  They posed on the top of the shrubs, and serenaded us with their complete repertoire of songs and calls.  Rufous hummingbirds glowed in the sunlight and put on aerial shows.  Yellow warblers and black-headed grosbeaks flitted in and out of the trees and house wrens sang from the thickets.  Identifying willow flycatchers and western wood peewees was easy because of their distinctive calls.  A western flycatcher and warbling vireos were more of a challenge to find – but we finally were able to find them.  A lazuli bunting sat on a tree limb so we all could enjoy it's brilliant blue color.  It was a fun morning of birding. 39 total species were seen.

Black-headed grosbeaks at Bennington Lake

The first thing I heard when I got out of the car this morning at the lake for our Tuesday walk was a black-headed grosbeak.  It didn't take me very long to find it up in the treetop happily singing away. We heard three others on our walk, but only got a look at a couple of them.  There were lazuli buntings singing and posing nicely on dead branches in several places, and the Bullock's orioles were very noisy and visible.  I like it when I get to see the birds!  And today even the yellow warblers were easy to spot.  We got a good, but brief look at at Wilson's warbler and a very brief, not good look at a MacGillivrary's warbler.  Calliope hummingbirds were on their usual perches and the male black-chinned hummingbirds were doing their buzzy display sounds.  The young great horned owls have found shelter away from the bank in the parking lot.  We didn't see them today, but we did see one of the adults so know they were close by.  We watched the osprey catch a fish and a great blue heron had a stare down with us as we passed on the trail.  We got a brief view of an eastern kingbird and saw several western kingbirds.  It was a beautiful morning – almost hot in the sunny stretches of the trail; but the best part of the walk was not having to wade across the canal!

 

Here Come the Birds!

Bennington Lake was alive with birds this morning.  On the water were ruddy ducks, buffleheads, a ring-necked duck, mallards, coots and northern shovelers. A spotted sandpiper, several killdeer and a great blue heron were on the shore. The Bullock's orioles have returned – we heard them all around the lake and got good looks at a couple of them.  As we got to the bench on the east side of the canal we heard a yellow-breasted chat.  After much searching we found him right in the open where we could see him well.  Paul carries his scope with him, so we were able to really get a good look.  Thank you Paul!  We also saw a lazuli bunting and a beautiful male yellow-rumped warbler.  We saw western kingbirds in several places. Yellow warblers and house wrens were abundant.  There were two ospreys, a red-tailed hawk and two northern harriers soaring overhead.  Of course cliff, tree and rough-winged swallows were everywhere.  The young great horned owls were on the bank in the parking lot.  Next week will bring even more birds, so get out there and enjoy!

Bennington Lake Sounds

The yellow warblers are back! It was nice to hear the birds singing as we walked around the lake on a beautiful sunny morning.  Besides yellow warblers, we could hear house wrens, goldfinches, black-capped chickadees, a Cassin's vireo, chipping sparrows and more.  The great horned owl parents were hooting in the cottonwoods keeping an eye on the owlets in the hole.  We also saw a Townsend's warbler, several yellow-rumped warblers, and several ruby-crowned kinglets. The lake was full of bufflehead, northern shovelers, mallards, coots and a couple horned grebes.  The cliff swallows are building their nests on the concrete structure in the lake, the rough-winged swallows are doing the same in the parking lot bank, and the tree swallows are finding boxes and snags.  Kingfishers are nesting in the bank along the canal and in the cut along the road going to the parking lot. Every week will bring more birds!

 

 

Palouse Falls Field Trip

Joe Corvino sent me this report of the field trip on Saturday, April 19.  Sounds like a great trip – sorry I missed it.

 

"Thirteen birders joined Joe and Carolyn Corvino on a beautiful spring day for an all day trip birding the Palouse Hills and Palouse Falls State Park. We were fortunate to have Mike and Merry Lynn Denny join us and help us find those birds invisible to the rest of us. Mike took us up Donnelly road, which has been replanted in many places with native Blue bunch Grass. In addition to enjoying the singing meadowlarks and the Swainson's and Red-tailed Hawks, Mike treated us to a lecture on this unique ecosystem. As the native plants have returned, badgers and other wildlife have followed. Among the highlights of the trip were, of course, the Peregrine Falcons, White-throated Swifts, and Violet-Green Swallows at Palouse Falls.  But the real climax of a wonderful day was revisiting an active Ferruginous Hawk nest. There were three hawks around this nest, one of which treated us to a truly regal aerial display.  We rewarded ourselves with a visit to Ray's Diner in Dayton, home of the best soft-serve in the area. While the rest of us ate, Merry Lynn found several immature Purple Finch around the diner."

A Beautiful Morning At Bennington Lake

The Tuesday Walkers had a lovely stroll around the lake this morning. The trees are beginning to leaf out, the butterflies are returning, and of course the birds are getting more active.  There were tree swallows flying around the south end of the lake, Bewick's wrens and song sparrows singing everywhere, and the osprey was cruising the lake.  There were a large number of ducks on the water – northern shovelers, green-winged teal, bufflehead and mallards.  There was a yellow-rumped warbler in bright breeding plumage, a singing ruby-crowned kinglet and a early chipping sparrow.  MerryLynn spotted a Swainson's hawk far in the distance and a pair of northern harriers were cavorting overhead.  Several killdeer made a huge fuss as we crossed the dam – no doubt we were too close to a nest.  Many other people were enjoying the lake and trails this morning – fishermen, horseback riders, boaters, bicycle riders and kayakers.  Everyone was out on a beautiful day enjoying a place that is a real jewel so close to town.  Ginger

 

(I also had reports of Swainson's hawks south of Lowden this morning, so they definitely have returned).

The Osprey is Back!

This morning the Tuesday walkers were greeted by the osprey as we started out on our walk.  The Corp put fish in the lake a couple days ago, and like clockwork the osprey seems to know and it returns.  The lake was teaming with violet-green swallows plus a few cliff and tree swallows, all skimming across the water getting a new hatch of some tasty insect.  There was a breeding plumage double-crested cormorant on a snag.  Now we know why they are called "double-crested"  That plumage is only apparent when they are breeding.  A western meadowlark was chirping from a tree high up on the east side and there were still a few Townsend's solitaires around.  Every week will bring more birds in now.  The next couple months will be very exciting on our walks as the summer birds return.  Hope you will all get out there and enjoy their arrival.  Ginger