Back to Field Trips
WOS
Home2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
2005/09/17 – Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties – Patrick and Ruth Sullivan
2005/05/07-09 - Ken Knittle led a three-day E. WA trip
2005/02/12 - Patrick and Ruth Sullivan led a trip to the Waterville Plateau in Douglas County
2005/01/08 - Ken Knittle led a field trip to Wahkiakum County
Yesterday, Mary Klein, George Gerdts, Dan Waggoner and I enjoyed a terrific day of birding here on Bainbridge Island. The weather was quite cooperative for late October. We spent the first three hours of the morning walking Restoration Point followed by some midday visits to a few of the Island's birding "hotspots". I had great plans to include afternoon stops at locations in the north-end of Kitsap County. However, as usual, it is quite difficult to run-away from Restoration Point as it is such a wonderful spot with great viewing of the waters of Central Puget Sound. At the end of the day, George and I did actually head-out to the tip of the Kitsap Peninsula to Foulweather Bluff. Doug and Pipper Watkins found a Short-eared Owl in the morning and we successfully re-located it. A great way to end the day as this is a code 5 bird for Kitsap County ( that sounds like something Ken Knittle would say). Great find Doug and Pipper and thanks for the heads-up.
Not including a few additional species that George and I had at the end of the day, we tallied 72 species during our birding time on Bainbridge Island. We had great looks at some neat birds and a few highlights that included a new addition to the Bainbridge Island checklist. Here are a few of the key birds:
We enjoyed Dunlins, Surfbirds and Black Turnstones at Restoration Point, although at about this time of year we hope for a Rock Sandpiper to make an appearance. No such luck. We did have a few Common Murres and Pigeon Guillemots along with a fly-by rhino at Battle Point, but in general alcids were few and far between. Sparrows were also in short supply at Restoration Point as this is usually a great spot for them.
All in all, it was an excellent day of birding in my own local area. Hey, how often can a leader of a WOS field trip add two new county birds to his or her county life-list (Rough-legged Hawk & Short-eared Owl)! Perhaps a few of you county-listers and fellow WOS members may want join-in if this trip is run again.
Happy Halloween and good birding, Brad Waggoner Bainbridge Island, WA, wagtail@sounddsl.com
2005/09/17 – Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties – Patrick and Ruth Sullivan
Yesterday we led a WOS field trip to the Bottle Beach-Tokeland area with a total of 6 participants and 97 species for the entire day. We encountered very cold, foggy conditions at the beginning of the day, which turned to warmer, sunny afternoon for a glorious fall afternoon. Overall it was a very nice birding day, despite rather slow birding but we did manage to locate a few highlights for the day! Nonetheless, all participants enjoyed the day and we also ran into many birders in the field on their field trips, etc., at a few selected locations between Bottle Beach and Tokeland.
Our day began in very dense fog at the Nisqually NWR, then continuing westward to the Hoquiam STP with the only check on the way made along Madrona Beach Rd. at Mud Bay in Thurston Co. After checking the Hoquiam STP for assorted waterfowl and other species we went straight to Bottle Beach for a check of any available shorebirds during incoming tide between 10:50am-11:45am. With very minimal shorebird diversity encountered here we moved onto the Westport Marina, where we carefully scoped the Marbled Godwit flock that rested along a portion of the rock jetty immediately north of the coast guard station at the east end of the marina and viewed from Float 21. We arrived when a smaller flock of bird was noted on a very small portion of rocky land just north of a dock, but then as water levels raised they all moved and joined the main flock of birds on the jetty. We eventually counted nearly 200 Marbled Godwits with he only different shorebird species amongst them including 2 Black Turnstones and 2 Long-billed Dowitchers. As we all continued waiting and hoping for more Marbled Godwits to join the flock and possibly the Hudsonian Godwit, etc., a single adult Black-legged Kittiwake allowed nice scoping views as it rested alone on a portion of the row of pilings protecting the marina, where it remained nearly our entire visit. This was a very nice bird spotted by Ann Marie Wood, which really excited her and other birders! Our other highlight and a surprise for us at this location was 2 immature Black-crowned Night Herons that flew in from the west portion of the marina, then allowed brief views before flying and tucking into a concealed area. This was our 2nd personal record for Grays Harbor Co.!
After scoping for some time at the Westport Marina we continued onto the Tokeland Marina, where the juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit was easily viewed amongst a flock of 300+ Marbled Godwits at it's favorite resting spot within the marina on an old wooden dock. The bird allowed great comparisons between the Marbled Godwits for all our participants, but unfortunately remained resting with it's bill tucked nearly the entire time. After spending some time watching the bird and other species from the Tokeland Marina we headed north and made a quick check of the large gull flocks along S.R.105 at North Cove before continuing onto Midway Beach Rd. We walked good amounts of open beach area, as well as the inner vegetation line at Midway Beach Rd., but have been again unlucky in locating any Snowy Plovers, but located several small plover tracks within the inner beach that could be of these birds. Without seeing too many species at this location our main highlight consisted of a small flock of 5 Lapland Longspurs along with scattered groups of Am. Pipits all observed within the upper vegetation line. After birding Midway Beach Rd. a portion of our group made one final stop on our way home to look for shorebirds, passerines, etc., at Bottle Beach during outgoing tide wit very few species noted. A list of other highlights of the day noted at selected locations follows below:
Ruddy Duck 1(with 3 Ring-necked Ducks and 1 Greater Scaup) at he Hoquiam STP; Common Loon 6 off Bottle Beach 2 at the Westport Marina 3 at Tokeland; Horned Grebe 1 at the Hoquiam STP 3 off Bottle Beach; Western Grebe 1 at the Tokeland Marina; Turkey Vulture 5 flying north over S.R.105 at Tokeland; Osprey 1 at the Nisqually NWR; Northern Harrier 3+ birds at the Nisqually NWR 2 at Midway Beach Rd.; Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 at Westport 1 along S.R.105 at Grayland 1 at Tokeland; Cooper's Hawk 1 at Tokeland; Black-bellied Plover 240+ at Bottle Beach; Greater Yellowlegs 8 at Mud Bay, Thurston Co.; Willet 17 at the Tokeland Marina; Spotted Sandpiper 3 at Mud Bay, Thurston Co.; Whimbrel 7 at Tokeland 1 at Midway Beach Rd.; Black Turnstone 2 a the Westport Marina 2 at Tokeland; Long-billed Dowitcher 2 at Bottle Beach 2 at the Westport Marina; Red-necked Phalarope 1-2 birds at the Hoquiam STP; Bonaparte's Gull 85+ at Mud Bay, Thurston Co.; Western Scrub Jay 1 along Hwy.12 near Satsop; Am. Pipit 35+ at Midway Beach Rd.; Lincoln's Sparrow 10+ at the Nisqually NWR 2 at Bottle Beach.
Good birding, Ruth and Patrick Sullivan Fircrest, WA, godwit@worldnet.att.net
2005/05/07-09 - Ken Knittle led a three-day E. WA trip
Nine birders enjoyed a rewarding WOS weekend field trip to eastern WA led by Ken Knittle covering 9 counties with a total of 158 species. We encountered good weather throughout most of the trip with areas of wind and rain at times, but overall condition were great! It was a great trip and with excellent participation from everyone! Ken Knittle, Alan Richards and Patrick Sullivan prescouted a portion of the route on the 6th with a few species that were not encountered during the actual field trip,but were noteworthy to mention. Migrant shorebirds were very limited to a few areas on the trip,as well as migrant passerines. Our main route consisted of the following areas covered on the following dates:
May 7th, 2005 - Swanson Lakes in Lincoln Co. extending southward to Harrington, then traveling along S.R.23 to Sprague. Sprague Lake to Cow Lake in Adams Co., then Hwy.23 at Sheep Lake to Lacrosse in Whitman Co. Hwy.26 south of LaCrosse to Bassett Park in Washtucna in Adams Co., then south to Lyons Ferry State Park in Franklin Co. extending southeastward along S.R.261 in Columbia Co. and continuing along Hwy.12 to Pomeroy in Garfield Co. Camping overnight at the Boundary Campground in the Umatilla National Forest.
May 8th, 2005 - Boundary CG in Garfield Co. to Linville Gulch Rd. and working our way into Columbia Co. to Tucannon Rd., then south to Curl Lake. Continuing back northward to Bartels Rd. to a portion of the W.T.Wooten Wildlife Area in Columbia Co., then continuing back along Tucannon Rd. north to Hwy.12. Hwy. 12 to S.R.127 to Central Ferry in Garfield Co., then continuing northeastward along Lower Deadman Rd. then along Ping Gulch Rd. to Rice Bar Hill Rd. to Rice Bar along the Snake River. Camping overnight at Windust Park along the Snake River in Franklin Co.
May 9th, 2005 - Windust Park to the Burr Canyon RD. then southward along Pasco-Kahlotus Rd. to Hwy.12 and eastward to the Walla Walla River Delta in Walla Walla Co. A brief drive along Hatch Grade Rd. before continuing northward to the Iowa Beef-Dodd Rd. ponds in Walla Walla Co., then westward to the Yakima River Delta, where the trip was ended in light rain. Due to high water conditions/levels both the Walla Walla and Yakima River Deltas hosted no shorebirds, but were worth checking with a few highlights noted at those locations. After the field trip this evening Kraig Kemper, Ken Knittle, Alan Richards and I observed the Black Phoebe in Auburn at the previous listed location along 29th Ave.
Our main highlights of the 3 day field trip included the following:
Mammal highlights of the trip: Yellow-billed Marmot, Columbia Ground Squirrel, White-tailed and Mule Deer, 2 Badgers, 5 Coyotes.
Patrick Sullivan Fircrest,WA godwit@worldnet.att.net
April 2nd and 3rd, 2005 - Doug Schonewald led a weekend trip to the Upper Grand Coulee and Dodson Road/Potholes area of Grant County
Five of us braved the wind and colder temperatures to bird the Grand Coulee (4/2) and the Dodson Road/North Potholes Reserve/Potholes State Park (4/3).
April 2: Saturday began slowly and birds were fewer than we would have liked. Our first bird of the day was a Burrowing Owl attending a nest near Moses Lake. We then went to Soap Lake where we were able to view 5 or 6 Long-billed Curlew as they fed in an alfalfa field. East Beach at Soap Lake had a pair of Dunlin to spike our interest, and the lake offered the usual Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Eared Grebes. Several Osprey were noted on the way to Sun Lakes State Park for lunch. Lunch at Sun Lakes State Park began quietly until a gull was noticed that appeared unusual. When the bird took flight it was obvious that it was unusual. The wings were very dark and exceptionally long, the rump was very white, and the mantle was very dark. When the bird eventually landed we all managed great looks at a second-year LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. What a great bird! I believe this is the same bird that was located at the same place last October. Other birds of note on the trip to Grand Coulee: Loggerhead Shrike, Great Egret, Barrow's Goldeneye, Long-eared Owl, Great Horned Owl, Golden Eagle, and Bald Eagle.
April 3: Our day began looking for Clark's Grebes on Moses Lake, which we managed to dip on. Our second stop was at the North Potholes Reserve where we were able to observe the heron rookery which contained many Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Great Egret, and Black-crowned Night-Heron. We were also able to locate the elusive BUSHTITS of the interior race and had very good looks at these hard to find local residents. Cinnamon Teal and several other common waterfowl were present. Birder's Corner produced Canvasbacks, nice looks at Redheads, and two Black-necked Stilts. Potholes State Park produced many birds including 9 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and plenty of Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Red-breasted Nuthatches as well as several breeding plumage Yellow-rumped Warblers.
We managed to locate 91 species on a cold and blustery weekend. It was a great weekend.
Doug Schonewald Moses Lake, WA dschone8@donobi.net
March 26th, 2005 - Scott Downes led a trip exploring the shrub-steppe starting in eastern Kittitas County, heading east through Vantage and on to the Othello area in Grant County
Seven of us enjoyed a fairly productive day in the field despite threatening weather. We managed to escape with 77 species and only some sprinkles, a snow flurry on the Vantage Highway and some colder than average temperatures. Some of the highlights included:
Vantage Highway-- Great looks at Sage Sparrow and Sage Thrasher both at MP 20 and beacon ridge road; 1 Brewer's Sparrow-first of the season, heard and briefly seen at MP 20; Great-horned Owl on nest in the rock outcropping in the coulee; Pair of Loggerhead Shrike across the road from the owl nest; 1 distant Pacific Loon--seen north of the Ginkgo overlook; 1 Townsend's Solitaire, Ginkgo trailhead parking lot
Wanapum Dam State Park-- 2 Long-tailed Duck; 1 Tree Sparrow; 1 CASSIAR Dark-eyed Junco
Around Othello a few highlights for the group...Great looks at 75-80 Tri-colored Blackbirds in the feedlot above the Para Ponds
At the Para ponds 1 American Avocet
We finished the day overlooking the spectacle of cranes and geese along Corfu road. A quick estimate in the fields yielded at least 900 Sandhill Cranes and several thousand Canada Geese. Also along this stretch was a juv. Northern Shrike. Was nice to be able to get both species of Shrike in a day.
all told a great day with great people. Scott Downes downess@charter.net Yakima WA
Ruth and Patrick Sullivan led a WOS field trip to the Waterville Plateau on the 12th and 13th of February (in both Douglas and Okanogan Cos.), which included 13 participants and a total of 75 species. The 2 day trip overall was a great success with exceptional weather and nearly all our expected highlights encountered. We covered areas beginning on the 12th along Bridgeport Hill Rd. to the Leahy area, then over to the Mansfield region extending west and looping back onto Bridgeport Hill Rd. We then arrived at Bridgeport State Park that lies along Rufus Woods Lake, where we ate lunch then walked around the park grounds before continuing on to the town of Bridgeport. Our day ended along Bridgeport Bar, then a final check along Bridgeport Hill Rd. for a unsuccessful attempt in locating any Sharp-tailed Grouse, as conditions became slightly breezy and cooler. On the 13th after a well rested night sleep in Pateros we began the crisp, cool morning at the mouth of the Methow River at Pateros, then worked our way up Central Ferry Canyon Rd. and onto the open, snow-covered fields above the forested area. We drove a short ways as conditions remained very windy and cold, then lucked into our only flock of Snow Buntings on the trip, which added to the excitement for everyone despite the flocks being scattered and very eruptive. We estimated nearly 500+ birds, as the swirled around in the wind calling when the came very close overhead, but finally drifted to farther reaches of where we all stood. From this location we worked our way down the forested canyon adding a few more species to our trip list, then driving back to the town of Bridgeport and continuing onto the Cassimer Bar at Washburn Island, where we ended the trip for a great 2 day excursion of the Waterville Plateau and surrounding areas.
Conditions remained very dry with unlike in past years with many of the open fields on the actual plateau area covered with little snow. Our visit on the 13th above the forested canyon of Central Ferry Canyon Rd. produced the largest area of snow-covered fields, which may have equally helped in producing Snow Buntings. It strongly seemed throughout the trip with seemingly "balmy" conditions at times and some behaviors of birds, etc. that spring may arrive early this year. Our trip nearly equaled results than our last year WOS field trip to the area and everyone this year was very enthusiastic and greatly helped out in spotting many of our highlights too! Below we list our highlights noted in order at locations with some details.
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN 1 presumably overwintering bird noted on the Bridgeport Bar on the 12th,then noted at a distance on the 13th from base of Washburn Island on the Okanogan Co. side of the Columbia River., where it calmly rested along the shore of the river in Douglas Co; CANVASBACK 30 birds on the 13th with a group of Redheads along the Methow River along S.R.153(just west of Hwy.97); LONG_TAILED DUCK 3 birds(1 male and 2 females) observed from Washburn Island on the 13th,as the moved westward along the Columbia River quickly by swimming and diving. My mother and I observed a single adult male bird from the Bridgeport Bar on the afternoon of the 11th.; ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK Very small numbers noted from scattered locations on the 12th within the Waterville Plateau, primarily in the Leahy-Mansfield area with a total of 8 birds tallied.; GOLDEN EAGLE A total of 3 birds encountered on the 13th with our first 2 birds of the day being immature birds noted on the ground at close range along Hwy.17 just south of Bridgeport Hill Rd. We then encountered a 3rd individual bird being an adult bird observed on a back road between Leahy and Mansfield. In additional my mother and I noted 3 additional birds on the 13th along Hwy.17 between Bridgeport and Hwy.2,which was a nice unexpected tally of birds within 2 days!; MERLIN 1 adult bird noted at Bridgeport on 12th,as well as encountered on the 11th by my mother and I while scouting.; GREATER SAGE GROUSE 8 birds(7 males and 1 female) observed on the 12th near Leahy, where the males were noted on territory actively displaying for all of us to see and experience in our spotting scopes. It was truly exciting to see these birds again from this location from a safe distance, until all the birds flew off to an unknown location on their own after their morning ritual. My mother and I had originally located 1 adult male on the afternoon of the 11th while scouting in the same general location. ;GREAT HORNED OWL 1 pair observed on the morning of the 13th along the lower portion of Central Ferry Canyon Rd. in thick, dense vegetation with a single bird noted the evening before on the 12th along Hwy.97 atop a telephone pole just east of Pateros.; SAY'S PHOEBE 1 active bird on the 12th along the paved road to Bridgeport State Park in an orchard (just uphill from Chief Joseph Dam). Always a nice species to see in the winter in WA!; HORNED LARK Scattered numbers noted widely from different locations on the 12th and 13th mainly from the most open areas. Initially my mother and I encountered a group of 400+ birds at one location near Leahy on 11th while scouting, but numbers from this location had declined on the 12th during a similar survey.; BLUE JAY 1 lingering bird observed by only some of the participants on our field trip on the 12th along Raymond Ave. in the town of Bridgeport. The bird was first detected from a residence along a hillside just west of Raymond Ave., where it was noted with a group of 5-6 calling Steller's Jays. The Blue Jay never vocalized during our visit on the 12th, but we strongly felt the key was tracking the Steller's Jays down, which the bird has been always noted with to some extent since October 2004. A check of this location on the 11th while scouting by us and on the 13th were unsuccessful in locating the Blue Jay nor any Steller's Jays too, so the bird may be very elusive like most Blue Jays. A big thank you to Meredith Spencer for giving us "tips" on finding this nice bird! ; CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE 1 bird with up to 10 Mountain Chickadees and 1-2 Black-capped Chickadees at Bridgeport S.P. on the 12th,then a single bird noted at Bridgeport on the 13th at a feeder along Raymond Ave. while searching for the Blue Jay at 1:30pm.;WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 2-3 birds on the 13th along the upper Central Ferry Canyon Rd. with up to 20 active Pygmy Nuthatches; RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 1 bird noted along the lower portion of Central Ferry Canyon on the 13th at the same location while watching the pair of Great Horned Owls.; TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE 1 bird foraging briefly in a Mountain Ash tree on the 12th while searching for the Blue Jay along Raymond Ave.; VARIED THRUSH 5-6 birds observed on the 13th along the lower portion of Central Ferry Canyon Rd.; BOHEMIAN WAXWING 200+ birds noted flying overhead and calling at Bridgeport on the 12th,but then great views of 75 birds perched atop a group of popular trees along Hwy.97 on the 13th(north of Bridgeport S.P. Continued varied numbers of Bohemian Waxwings were noted as we continued north along Hwy.97 to Washburn Island with the largest concentrations noted from fruit orchards in the range of 300+ birds at one location. Small numbers of Cedar Waxwings were also noted on the 13th with our first bird detected alone with House Finches along the lower portion of the Central Ferry Canyon Rd., then small numbers in Russian Olive trees mixed with Bohemian Waxwings at Washburn Island.; NORTHERN SHRIKE Up to 6 birds noted on the 12th from scattered locations between Hwy.17 and the Mansfield Cemetery.; YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER 6 birds noted on the 12th at Bridgeport S.P. amongst a chickadee flock, of which was the center of attention made from a group of 3 spruce trees.; AMERICAN TREE SPARROW 2 birds noted on the 12th in a brushy area along Heritage Rd. (aka Woods Rd. or "L" Rd.) south of Hwy.172 east of Mansfield ; LAPLAND LONGSPUR Up to 12 birds noted and heard singing/calling overhead with 2 Horned Larks along Heritage Rd. on the 12th at the same location as the Am.Tree Sparrows.; COMMON REDPOLL 8 well observed birds noted along Central Ferry Canyon Rd. on the 13th foraging along a sage-covered hillside, where they remained for a lengthy stay for everyone to see and watch! This was a grand sighting for everyone and one that was totally unexpected,especially since we lucked out at other locations during the trip for this species!
In addition we noted a pair of Coyotes(for our only mammal highlight of the trip)along the upper portion of Bridgeport Hill Rd. on the 12th.
Ruth and Patrick Sullivan Fircrest,WA godwit@worldnet.att.net
January 8, 2005 Saturday - Ken Knittle led a field trip to Wahkiakum County
The WOS Field Trip started at 8 am at Julia Butler Hansen NWR, except for Matt Bartels who dug out a Great Horned Owl in the icy cold wind before dawn. Temperatures ranged from 37 - 38 F most of the day and very strong east wind all day. The Great Horned Owl would make it 71 species. Very high tide with water covering most of the Altoona Road. Basically birded our way through the refuge and then west to Altoona and a brief past around most of Puget Island looking for Western Scrub-Jay and Rock Pigeons. We found two Western Scrub-Jays, but no Rock Pigeons, which stands to reason they are listed as a (3) which means they are usually seen in the county every year, but not numerous.
Highlights included: 2-Greater White-fronted Geese 1 Canada Goose with the red neck band reading 9 TA (the 9 being sideways) 2 Eurasian Wigeon drakes (1 at headquarters pond, and 1 along Hwy) 1 male Canvasback in Grays Bay several Pelagic Cormorants at Altoona 2 or 3 White-tailed Kites (numbers down from past trips) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk male at Altoona 1 young Peregrine Falcon at Vista County Park Black-bellied Plovers with Dunlin in field along Loop Road where they are expected this time of year 1 Spotted Sandpiper-Altoona 1 Wilson's Snipe 1 Hutton's Vireo heard along Altoona Rd. 1 or 2 Brown Creepers heard along Altoona Rd. several Townsend's Warblers in Kinglet/Chickadee flock along Altoona Rd. no large sparrow flocks probably due to high wind
Animals seen: 1 bloated cow floating down the Grays River 1 dead duck floating down the Columbia River 1 Opossum trying to get hit on the road Columbia River White-tailed Deer several Nutria on the refuge
Ken Knittle, washingtonbirder@hotmail.com