This seemed like a very long day! 

It started out with beautiful weather. It ended with beautiful weather. We drove past miles and miles of beautiful, snow covered, fields. But, raptors?  What raptors? The numbers were certainly down! 

We saw five Rough-legged Hawks and one Red-Tailed Hawk!  In 94 miles!  That’s one raptor every 15 miles. We did see one other raptor, which I’ll get to in a bit. No American Kestrels. No Northern Harriers. In Mansfield, the resident Merlin did not show its face. 

Even though we scanned every single rock pile and every single field we drove by, there were no Snowy Owls and no Gyrfalcons. It was one of those days.

We saw seven mule deer on a route where we usually see 20 to 30. But we did see one pheasant fly across the road, three porcupines sleeping In trees and three coyotes!

As we drove the absolute LAST quarter mile of this survey route, we pulled up short and said, “What’s THAT?!” Our heads turned to see a VERY large bird sitting on a rock not far from the road. We both said, “He’s huge!” 

I stopped the car, got out to retrieve my camera from the backseat (which I had put away because I thought we were finished), and hoped it didn’t fly away before I got to take a picture. It sat there for a few seconds while I snapped a couple photos and then it lifted off and away it went. 

At first glance I thought it was a Golden Eagle. On second thought, maybe a subadult Bald Eagle.  I knew I’d have to get the pictures home and look at them on my computer before I could figure out what I was looking at.

After arriving home, I downloaded the pictures to my computer and dug out my hawk books. I am really inexperienced when it comes to Golden Eagles.  I have only seen one about 4-5 times in my life, and don’t feel at all confident about identifying them, or differentiating between a Golden and a subadult Bald Eagle. After reading and looking at all the pictures, I thought it was a first or second year Bald Eagle.

I sent an email asking for help to Jeff Fleischer, of East Cascades Audubon Society, who is running the raptor survey project, and also posted some pictures on the Raptor ID FaceBook group. I want to thank Jeff and the folks in the Raptor ID group for their help in learning how to ID this bird. I really appreciate it.

What we have here is a subadult (probably 1-2 year) Bald Eagle.  Here is the criteria on which this judgement was made.

It has a large head and beak, larger than a GOEA.

The dark eyes are starting to lighten.

The nape is sharp, two-toned (indicting having molted), as distinct from the dark back.

There are no feathers on feet (tarsi).

The mottled white on the underwing and body is characteristic of a subadult BAEA.  There is too much white for a subadult GOEA.

The tail was mottled.  It did not have the definitive white band with black terminal band of a subadult GOEA.

Here is a summary of what we saw today:
Rough-legged Hawk – 5
Red-tailed Hawk – 1
Bald Eagle: subadult – 1

The lights were on, but no one was home!

It started out as a beautiful day, with lots of sunshine. So, the lights were on in the lower part of the Grand Coulee. But there didn’t seem to be anyone around! It seemed like either everyone was hunkered down or they were over visiting the neighbors! Even after stopping at multiple pull-outs and looking in all of the windows in this 20 mile long, coulee-corridor, house, there didn’t seem to be any visible raptors. We scanned the fields, scanned the basalt walls, scanned the sky over and over again. All of that activity yielded one Rough-legged Hawk. 

When you are standing on the coulee floor, the ridge top of the basalt cliffs is very far away! You look for a little bump along the ridge line, or perhaps a bird flying in front of the basalt. As we reached the south end of Alkali Lake, it did seem like there was a bump on the top of the ridge line. I pulled out my binoculars, but could not ID it, other than it was a bird – a good sized one. So I pulled out my camera and took some photos, hoping that when I got back to my computer and enlarged them, I could make a firm identification. And sure enough! We had a Golden Eagle!

For the entire day we did not see one American Kestrel, Bald Eagle, or Northern Harrier! I thought for sure with the sunlight we would see more activity. But not so!

All of the lakes in the Lower Coulee are still frozen over. They are beautiful to look at! The snow really hasn’t diminished a whole lot since last month.

Up on the flat farmland, east of Coulee City there was still a lot of snow. And the roads that were not plowed last month are still not plowed this month, more or less. There were a couple secondary roads that someone had driven on.  But they did not entice me enough to chance getting stuck up there in the middle of nowhere.

There is a cool, old abandoned barn south of Hartline. A couple of months ago, Amanda and I stopped and walked in a bit, and saw a Great-horned Owl take off from inside the barn. We actually saw him two months in a row. But, he did not show himself today.

Here is a summary of what was seen today.

Red-tailed Hawk 5
Rough-legged Hawk 7
Golden Eagle 1

The Eagles take the day! 

The total mileage on this survey route is 112 miles. We actually drove over 135 miles because we really wanted to find a Snowy Owl! So we took a couple detours to go to places where they had been spotted in the last day or two (reported on eBird). We did find one Snowy, east of the Atkins Lake area, but he was a million miles away! Maybe next month will be better!

We did see Bald Eagles! We spotted four on our route and two additional ones while driving to the starting point. That’s quite a number for that area!

I still can’t help but wonder if our reduction in raptor numbers is due to the large snowfall we had a couple of weeks ago. The numbers of American Kestrels and Northern Harriers, as well as the Rough-legged Hawks, were definitely less than previous months.

When you are out looking for raptors in the landscape, every white clump of snow is a Snowy Owl. And every bump on a rock, or a hillside, is a hawk waiting to be found. Amanda and I laugh about a certain “Rock Hawk” on one segment of this route. It sits on top of a rock which is on top of a hill, and looks exactly like that… a hawk sitting on a rock. We have driven by this particular “Rock Hawk” a total of 12 times. The first time we went by it, we were both convinced it was a hawk until we got close and looked at it with a binoculars. Definitely not a bird! And every subsequent month when we would drive by it we would say, “Oh, look! There’s the Rock Hawk!“ But last month, as we drove by, I was convinced there really was a bird up there! Of course my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, and I was driving. So we stopped and I got out the binoculars and I was convinced it moved. “This time there really is a hawk up there, Amanda!  I saw it move!”  She was not convinced. At all. And rightly so. It was just a rock.

We decided to stop and eat our lunch up at the Vernal Ponds. While we were there a couple other birders happened by who were also looking for Snowy Owls. One person was the gentleman who owns the property where the Saint Andrews Grange was located. We talked to him a little while about the fire and its aftermath and what it’s meant for his existence.  He also told us about a prairie falcon who hangs out around the fertilizer storage area just east of the Saint Andrews intersection. We were happy to hear that, because it’s on the latter part of our route. And sure enough, when we got there, there was a prairie falcon sitting on a power pole! It was great to see it. It was a little too far away to get a good photo, but we were definitely able to identify it. Now we will know to keep our eyes open for it when we go back that way.

Here is a summary of what was seen today.

Red-tailed Hawk. 1
American Kestrel. 1
Northern Harrier. 1
Bald Eagle (Adult). 4
Rough-legged Hawk. 7
Prairie Falcon. 1
Snowy Owl. 1

Today’s Raptor Ramblings might have more rambling than raptors.  But, some days are like that!  Today turned out to be a very unique day, for more than one reason.  But, maybe, when you go on an adventure every day is unique!

First off, a winter raptor survey doesn’t usually start with a flat tire, but it did today.  Well, almost flat…. To make a long story short, I ended up with four new winter tires this morning.  I wasn’t really expecting to do that. But, that’s how it turned out.  One good thing about it is that I don’t have to worry about getting a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere now!

Heading up the Bridgeport Hill Road toward the start of the route at Mansfield Road (N. Oil Rd), we left the fog behind, which was a relief.  One never knows what you will find when Waterville is engulfed in fog. But, reaching the route start, the skies opened up.  As we drive along the West Foster Creek Wildlife Area, we are always startled at the scarring from the fires from over a year ago. 

Another unique thing about this month’s survey is the lack of birds of prey.  Along the route today, there were no Red-tailed Hawks, no American Kestrels, no Northern Harriers.  I wondered where they all went.  Maybe such heavy snow cover prevents hunting and they have moved elsewhere. There were a few Rough-legged Hawks, which we were happy to see!

Leaving Penny Lake we laughed at a group of Mule Deer lounging in the snow, as though it was a warm blanket. Heading south toward Mansfield, a group of Chukars decided they weren’t sticking around! Their picture is at the top of the blog.

The resident Merlin in the town of Mansfield, showed up again!  Maybe some day one of us will get a picture that we can post. We kept our eyes open for Snowy Owls as we crept along the roads where they have been seen in previous times, but no one showed up today.  

Talk about unique!  We saw something today that we have never seen before!  I have read about porcupines sleeping in the branches of trees in the winter. Today we saw three of them sleeping in trees!  What a sight! 

When we drove down towards the north end of Jameson Lake, the resident Golden Eagle at Bennett Lake was there to greet us.  Supposedly there is a nest in the basalt.  I would love to locate it.

Here is a summary of what was seen today. Hopefully more will show up next month!

Golden Eagle – 1
Rough-legged Hawks – 7
Merlin – 1

Today was a day for American Kestrels!  If we could count every AMKE that was seen, the count would have totaled 14.  However, six of them were sitting on power poles between Quincy and the junction with SR 283.  Since that was before the start of the official route, they couldn’t be counted.

The entire drive looked much more wintery this month than it did in December. A lot of snow, and all of the lakes (Soap Lake, Lenore Lake, Alkali Lake, Blue Lake and Park Lake) were frozen over. 

The drive north up the Lower Grand Coulee is a fairly heavily traveled road.  There are a lot of turn-out spaces to stop along the road, but not when there has been a heavy snowfall.  Fortunately, there were a few that were cleared off, so a person could stop and observe. We made several stops driving up the coulee.  We were hoping that a Golden, or a Bald, Eagle might appear above the rim of the basalt, but no such luck!

A stop at the Dry Falls Visitor Center parking lot revealed a pair of Red-tailed hawks dancing on the air currents.  One was a very dark morph, and the other almost white. 

When exiting the coulee region and heading east toward the farmland south of Hartline, the route map needed a little modification. The information gleaned from the county snow plow road map wasn’t entirely accurate, almost, but not quite. Some roads that had been marked for plowing, hadn’t been, so I modified the route slightly.

A lot of the land south of US 2 is farm land with no power poles.  So, when it has a deep snow cover, you don’t see any raptors gliding over the land looking for rodents that aren’t there.

However, driving down Pinto Ridge, a Bald eagle flew over the entire arc of the sky.  Judging from its trajectory, I would guess it was traveling from Banks Lake in the Upper Grand Coulee to one of the lakes in the lower Coulee, maybe Blue Lake or Park Lake.

Here is a summary of what was seen.

Red-tailed Hawk – 5
American Kestrel – 8
Bald Eagle – 1
Rough-legged Hawk – 3

As we turn up Pine Canyon, Amanda says, “The weather looks a little ‘iffy’ up ahead.”

“Looks like heavy clouds up towards Waterville,” I answer.

“Yep!”

I pull over to the side of the road saying, “I didn’t look at the road cams this morning.  Let me take a look.”

“No! No! No! Let’s let it remain a mystery!  We know we are going anyway.”

We both laugh and say, “On to the mystery!” and head up the hill.  As we clear the top of the canyon, there is heavy, heavy fog.  Not good.  But, in less than a mile, it is gone and we can see clearly in all directions.  Mystery solved!

At our survey starting point on North Oil Rd., it is 21° and there is snow everywhere. In the top of a popular tree across the road is a Bald Eagle, surveying his kingdom. We head over the hills, dropping down toward Mansfield.  We disturb a coyote feasting on the remains of a deer carcass.  As we approach, the coyote takes off, and the twenty Common Ravens circling above decide it’s safe to descend.

Heading east from Mansfield, we head north on Rd. H NE.  We see another Bald Eagle fly over the road and land on a rock about a half mile away. As we look, we see there are two BAEAs there, and one is eating a kill.  We watch them for a while.  They aren’t concerned with us, we’re too far away.

Our survey two days ago had an abundance of Northern Harriers.  Today they are a scarcity. Instead, we find an abundance of Rough-legged Hawks (RLHAs).  You can never predict! We saw several hunting in the fields, and also sitting on power poles on Highway 17 running south from Leahy Junction. 

That section of Highway 17 is hard to survey because there are very few places to pull off and observe, and the traffic rolls through like there is no tomorrow. You might be crawling along trying to watch some activity in the field and your rear-view mirror reveals a semi plowing toward you at 70 mph. Usually, along that road, I drive and Amanda birds.

When we reach Sims Corner (intersection of Highway 17 and Highway 172), we turn west and, once again, head toward Mansfield.  There are many boulders called glacial erratics in this area.  They are so named because glacial ice carried them hundreds of miles during the series of ice age floods that occurred here some 14-16,000 years ago. As we approach one situated right along the road, we notice a RLHA sitting on a power pole.  He lifts off and flies to the erratic.  Amanda has her camera out and is trying to follow him.  He lands on the side of the bolder and totally disappears from sight.  She can see him, because she has followed him there.  I have pulled over to the side of the road and am trying to find him but don’t succeed.  She has him in her sight and snaps some images.  Talk about camouflage! 

We decide it’s about time to eat lunch.  We head north on Rd K NE and decide to stop four miles up, at a turn in the route, and eat there. On the way we spot what looks like a RLHA flying above the ridge, just next to a farm house.  We watch it for a bit and also scan the trees around the house.   Continuing north we stop and eat lunch, scanning the area while we do.  In a bit, a big pickup truck approaches us, pulls up and the driver rolls down her window.  We assume that she is wondering what we are doing out here in the middle of nowhere with our binoculars and cameras, and we are right. We explain about the Audubon Winter Raptor surveys and I ask her if she lives in the farmhouse just south, the one we were scanning.  She replies, “Yes,” and I tell her that I think we spoke with her last year when she was out fixing fence.  She remembers, and we have a nice chat for a few minutes.  We can’t blame her for being cautious, and tell her that we will be back once a month, through March.  We have met a couple other folks the same way on our route-driving, and now they know who we are.

We head into Mansfield again.  A very skilled Audubon board member once told me that every small town in Eastern Washington probably has a resident Merlin. In our surveys over the past three years, we have traveled through this little town of Mansfield a total of 33 times, as well as visiting it several times just birding on our own. Every time we pass through we look for, and have never seen, a Merlin. Well, today made up for it!  Today we saw a “Hot Pursuit in Mansfield!” As we passed through the main part of town, I spot a bird sitting in the top of a tall evergreen.  We stop and look with the binoculars.  Sure enough!  A Merlin!  We pull our cameras out and I snap off a few frames.  Suddenly, he lifts off and pivots away down towards a dove that is flying by.  They fly up and around and back like trapeze artists without the trapeze. Suffice to say, we spent the next fifteen minutes watching this Merlin dive and cavort and perform all types of aerial acrobatics trying to get some dinner.  We drove all over town trying to keep him in our sights.  We finally gave up trying to photograph him, as he was just too quick.  Talk about turning on a dime!  He turned on a pinhead! We didn’t have to worry about alarming him.  He was too involved in the chase.  Mansfield has some huge grain bins and a very large population of doves, pigeons, and starlings.  That Merlin really worked!  I hope he got some dinner, because he was using up a lot of calories trying to get it. We could have stayed there for a long time watching him, but we were losing light and still had several miles of survey route ahead. But, at least, now we know.  There IS a Merlin in Mansfield!

When we arrive at the final 2.2 mile segment of the route, we find we can only drive .9 of a mile.  The snowplow stopped there and the rest of the route is unplowed.  Looking at the snow, I decide that I really don’t want to get stuck in it out there in the middle of nowhere.  We turn around and end our survey there.

Here is a summary of what we saw:

Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Northern Harrier 3
Bald Eagle 3
Rough-legged Hawk 18
Merlin 1

Would you like to inquire about participating in ECAS Winter Raptor Surveys?  Contact Jeff Fleischer at raptorrunner97321@yahoo.com