By Richard Scranton
On Sunday, June 20th, Mark Johnston and I led a birding field trip to Mountain Home Preserve near Leavenworth. We had one hearty soul join us as we trekked the mostly flat 3-mile trail.
This bird hike is one of my favorites as there are 3 distinct habitats: dry forest, a wetland area, and open hillsides. The landscape is continually changing and with it the fauna and flora, making each stop along the way a place for discovery. Each habitat tends to attract different sets of birds thus increasing the number of species encountered. For example, we had Western Tanagers and Cassin’s Vireo in the dry forest, Yellow Warbler and Willow’s Flycatcher in the wetland area, and Lazuli Bunting and Olive-sided Flycatcher on the open hillside.
The highlight of the trip was encountering both Ruffed and Dusky grouse. About a mile into our trip, we heard the male Ruffed Grouse’s display which is caused by beating the air with its wings which creates a drumming sound that increases rapidly in tempo. We inadvertently flushed 4 young that were hunkered down next to the trail. Further up the trail in a dry wooded spot, we heard the Dusky male gives a series of deep hoots, the soundless vibrant and softer than the Ruffed.
Overall, we saw or heard 35 species of birds while enjoying a pleasant 4-hour walk.