This blog post was submitted by Virginia Palumbo

Wednesday was opening day at Beebe Springs Natural Area, and Virginia Palumbo and Meredith Spencer had a beautiful blue day for the first Beebe Springs survey for this year. Although the numbers of individual birds were not high, we spotted 31 species. Highlights of the day included 7 Trumpeter Swans swimming close by in one of the inlets, and a Virginia Rail that flushed from the side of the trail. We were happy to have both a great view of a Bewick’s Wren singing, and heard a Canyon Wren’s beautiful descending song. . Robins, Flickers, and Black-capped Chickadees were abundant, and the usual Great Blue Herons and Belted Kingfishers made an appearance. A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Downy Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, and Violet-green Swallows rounded out the day’s excitement.

The Beebe Springs surveys will continue on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. The start time varies according to when the sun comes over the Plateau, so please contact Virginia for start times and to register, at 509-682-5969 or vwpalumbo@gmail.com. We’d love to see you at Beebe!

This blog entry was submitted by Joe Veverka, NCWAS

We had 17 birders meet at the 19^th St Trailhead at 08:00 Saturday morning for 2 (turned into 2.5) hours of birding at Porter’s Pond in East Wenatchee.  The weather was gorgeous – sunny, light breeze, and cool.  Birding started off fairly slow as we walked north along a dirt path paralleling the Apple Capital Loop Trail (ACLT).  We had nice looks at four Barrow’sGoldeneye and later found several Common Goldeneye for comparison.  Mallards were the most abundant identifiable waterfowl.  We had good views of a Belted Kingfisher and a Double-crested Cormorant in the scopes.  Most of the waterfowl were far across the river, many in the lagoon at Walla Walla Point Park.

Heading south down the ACLT we found a pair of Downy Woodpeckers and re-found a gregarious band of a half-dozen Black-capped Chickadees.  One of the highlights, as we moved south of the trailhead connector, was seeing our first violet-green swallow of the year.  We also had nice views of an adult bald eagle while trying to get binoculars on a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers.  The southern half of our walk was more productive than the northern half.  We had great looks at Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, and Buffleheads.  We managed to pick out a few Canvasbacks among a raft of scaup along the west bank of the river.

Time management while birding has always been an issue for me.  Most of us finished a half-hour after the scheduled time enjoying the nice weather, sun, and company.  By all accounts, it was a successful outing!  And, we identified 40 species of birds!

Article and photos by Janet Bauer, Winthrop.

On Saturday morning February 19th, a group of 12 enthusiastic birders gathered in Pateros to spend the day birding with Mark Johnston and Richard Scranton leading the tour. We first birded along the banks of the Columbia River and were treated to a nice variety of water birds. Close-up views of Common Loons, Common Goldeneye, and Horned Grebes were had by all. 

We then drove along the Columbia towards Bridgeport and at one stop above the river, we had great looks at a singing Bewick’s Wren. The group proceeded to walk through the Bridgeport Bar area where Stellar’s Jays were calling at the parking lot and a Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagle flew above us as we walked out to the river. Looking out across the Columbia, Trumpeter Swans and Northern Pintails were seen in our scopes. A Varied Thrush was seen on the return to the parking lot. By the Wells Wildlife area, we spotted our first Rough-legged Hawk of the day. Other highlights were a bathing Cooper’s Hawk and a pair of young Hooded Mergansers. 

Our tour finished at Bridgeport State Park where we walked around the snow-covered campsites looking for Northern Saw-Whet Owls roosting in the dense conifers. Thanks to Bob, a keen spotter in our group, we were treated to good views of two owls each tucked away in its own tree. Our final highlight was watching a large flock of Bohemian Waxwings flying in and out from tall trees catching insects. 

By the end of the trip, we had tallied 46 different species of birds. It was a wonderful way to spend a warm February day. Many thanks to Mark and Richard for leading the trip!

Total = 46 species

By Richard Scranton

On Sunday, June 20^th, 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.