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Naneum Ridge (Chelan County) and the Surrounding Areas Text and Photos by Doug Schonewald
Naneum Ridge divides
the Kittitas Valley to the south and the Columbia River to the north.
Lying within the geographic area often referred to as the Colockum,
Naneum Ridge runs from Wenatchee Mountain to the Old Vantage Highway. As
such, it would be impossible to cover all of the birding opportunities
available in such a large geographic area, so I will cover the Coleman
Canyon Road, Swift Creek Road, and Naneum Ridge Road corridors. This is an area that is best birded over a weekend, as there is no way to effectively reach and bird all of the available habitats in one day. Even then, you might wish you had a few more days to explore the area. Habitat variation is extreme as with all other foothill regions of eastern Washington, varying from agricultural to low-elevation shrub-steppe to alpine types of habitats and everything in between. Coleman Canyon is a small stream that contains year-round water and excellent riparian habitat. As you climb, it is well worth the effort to stop at the many wide spots and pish and search for those species that frequent the riparian zone. Expect Nashville, MacGillivray's, as well as an occasional yellow warbler. Hairy and downy woodpeckers and red-naped sapsuckers are the dominant Picidae in the riparian zone, but white-headed woodpeckers have also been seen along the creek in the mature ponderosa pine. Other species often seen in this area include Sooty and ruffed grouse, Steller's jay, western wood-pewee, and olive-sided flycatcher. (There is some discussion about whether the grouse are Sooty or Dusky, but it appears at this writing that most birds are of Sooty ancestry.) The air is usually filled with Vaux's swifts and violet-green swallows. As you continue to climb, the ponderosa pine and riparian broadleaf begin to give way to Douglas Fir and the bird species begin to shift to those that prefer this type of habitat, with Townsend's and Yellow-rumped warblers predominating. Steller's jays are still found and gray jays begin to show up. Ruffed grouse give way to mostly Sooty grouse. Chipping sparrows begin to show. At the end of Coleman Road, you begin to get into a large tract of western larch with meadows under them. It is here that one can truly search for both black-backed woodpecker and Williamson's sapsucker. Sooty grouse also frequent the area and there are a few Spruce grouse, but they are very few and difficult. At the end of the road you will come to a 'T' intersection.
At this point you have climbed to approximately 6000
feet in elevation.
Turn right on this road
(Swift Creek Road) and take the time to search as you cruise this road
for Clark's nutcracker, hermit thrush, and gray jays. It was in this
area a few years ago that a field trip located several barred owls, a
single spotted owl, and northern goshawk. Pine grosbeaks are possible
and several boggy areas offer breeding Lincoln's sparrow. Washington Ornithological Society. 12345 Lake City Way NE, #215. Seattle, WA 98125. Information@WOS.org
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The ridge can be
reached from several directions, but my personal favorite is to use the
Coleman Canyon Road. This Road is also known as Road 9. Other routes
that are available are: Colockum Pass Road, Schaler Road (leaving from
Wenatchee Heights' Loop Road), and several longer and much rougher
routes. While you may refer to DeLorme, 
If you are going to
camp, there are several areas along the Swift Creek Road to do so, but mosquitoes can be bad near the bogs and springs.
The Swift Creek Road
eventually (after about 3 or 4 miles) runs into the Naneum Ridge Road.
Taking a left on the Naneum Ridge Road will take you above the tree line
with vistas of the Kittitas Valley, the Stewart Range of the Cascades,
and the Columbia River.