The following report and photos are provided by Eric Heisey (trip leader)
On Saturday November 26th, I had the pleasure of leading a group of 12 NCWAS birders on a field trip to Cassimer Bar Wildlife Area and a couple of other surrounding hotspots. The weather was chilly for much of the day, with a brisk wind and 4-6 inches of snow lingering from an early-season storm a couple of weeks prior. I think the early season snow really impacted our ability to find songbirds, as we really struggled to find even a couple of sparrows throughout the day. All the same, we managed to find a number of exciting birds, and had fun exploring this excellent area along the Columbia River.
We met in Pateros at 7:30 am, and after fueling up at the bakery, we consolidated ourselves into a few cars and headed toward Cassimer Bar. We parked at the southern access area off of the Cassimer Bar Access Rd (note: the western end of this road still has a number of trees down across the road from the storm earlier in November). We walked south across a snowy field and into the russian olives around the south tip, where we began to encounter some birds. The wind was biting and the snow crunched loudly below our feet, making songbirds difficult to observe. All the same, we managed to locate some Spotted Towhees, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flickers, and American Robins feeding on this invasive species of tree. Not much more presented itself to us until we made it out to the river. Unfortunately, a low fog hung over the water, making it impossible to look out far on the river. However, we were able to make out a number of species closer to shore, and we all got solid looks at Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Horned Grebe, Herring Gull, and of course, American Coot.
Activity remained rather slow until we made it to the base of the causeway. Here the sun came out, and the birds seemed to respond to the warmth. A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flew overhead and chickadees called in a large stand of silver poplars. We were able to call in the chickadee flock, and were pleased to notice that one of the chickadees was different, a hybrid Mountain x Black-capped Chickadee! We observed this bird at close range, and were able to see the thin white eyebrow, grayer mantle, and white-edged wing feathers well while obtaining some photos. Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets foraged low to the ground with the chickadees, allowing good looks. As we continued to watch this small flock, I noticed a blackbird fly up into a snag behind the flock. Noticing that this was indeed a strange blackbird, I alerted the group to a possible Rusty Blackbird. We all got good looks at the bird, but I wanted to make sure to get good documentation before making a firm call that this was indeed such a rare bird. The lighting was very strong, which made my colorblind self a bit uncertain of whether or not the strong rusty color I was seeing was indeed rusty enough for a Rusty Blackbird and not just an artifact of the lighting. Luckily, I was able to obtain and review many photos of this rather cooperative bird while it fed side-by-side with a female Brewer’s Blackbird, allowing me to confirm its identity as a Rusty Blackbird and making for an excellent comparison. We all got good looks through the scope and our bins over the course of 10-15 minutes. Certainly, this was the excitement of the trip!
We continued down the causeway and found a large flock of diving ducks and coots. They were rather skittish as many ducks are during hunting season, but all the same, we were able to pick out a few more interesting diving waterfowl, Canvasback, Redhead, Common Loon, and Western Grebe, while obtaining better looks at some of the species we had observed earlier. A Northern Harrier flew by closely while Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks flew about as we watched the ducks. We finished circling back to the cars by way of the western section of the access road, still struggling to find any songbirds as we walked. We made it back to the cars and after a quick snack, decided to go look for swans and Saw-whet Owls next. On the way out, a Townsend’s Solitaire flew in front of my car, uncommon along this stretch of the Columbia in winter.
At the junction of Highway 17 and 97, we stopped to look for swans. Both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans were present (around 40 in total, most being Trumpeter), and though they were a bit distant, we all got good looks at the key field marks of both species. We continued to Bridgeport State Park after this brief stop, where we tried and failed to find the Saw-whet Owls who roost there in the winter. There was very little scat in general, making me wonder if they simply aren’t roosting regularly yet. We did hear a Great Horned Owl loudly hooting above our heads, and spotted a Golden Eagle soaring out far to the north of us. On the way towards our last stop, Bridgeport Bar Wildlife Area, we spotted two Snow Geese foraging on a soccer field below Chief Joseph Dam. After getting solid looks at these white geese, we drove across the bridge and noticed a couple of late American White Pelicans roosting on the rocks along the waterfront of Bridgeport. Cool!
Our last stop at Bridgeport Bar was disappointingly birdless in comparison to this time last year. A year before I had witnessed over a thousand sparrows feeding on intentionally planted wheat, kasha and corn at this location (https://ebird.org/checklist/S98430823), and was hoping for a similar spectacle on this trip. Alas, we struggled to find even 1/20th the number of songbirds I had found in the previous year, as it seems the wheat and kasha that were present last year were not grown this year. Coupled with the early snow, passerine numbers were quite paltry. Still, we managed to find some interesting birds, as we watched Steller’s Jays chasing around a Great Horned Owl, and later found the owl sitting right out in the open where we all had fantastic looks at this stunning large raptor. Our last highlight of the day was a female Merlin, which cruised low over our heads and allowed the entire group excellent looks. A great end to the day!
Overall, we managed to find 62 species of birds on the day (https://ebird.org/tripreport/86942). This is not lucrative, but given the late November conditions I think we did pretty well, and even managed to find a couple of rare species. The Rusty Blackbird was of only a handful of records of this species for Okanogan county, and the chickadee hybrid was only the second record in eBird for the county (the first also from Cassimer Bar earlier this fall, and perhaps the same individual). It was a great day with excellent company. I sure had a great time, and I hope that the participants did as well!
Until next time.
Eric Heisey
