Looking at eBird – Part 2. Setting the Stage

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Bruce McCammon

The Geography of North Central Washington

Swept by massive floods, scraped by glaciers and ice sheets, ravaged by wildfire, and manipulated by humans – these are the forces behind the formation of the land in North Central Washington. This article provides a sense of the land in North Central Washington and how it is configured to provide the habitat for the area’s wild birds. The land, and the vegetation on it, are as diverse as the birds that live here or visit seasonally.

This land was their land

The NCWAS four-county area lies on the ancestral lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation.

Figure 1 (below) shows a generalized map of the ancestral lands of the many Indigenous People in the four counties in the North Central Washington Audubon Society (NCWAS) area: Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, and Okanogan. The Native Land website provides an interactive view of the map. With the caveat that the map presents a simplified view, the impact is still dramatic. Every square inch of the land was occupied by Indigenous People for thousands of years. Members of these tribes exist today and carry the legacy of European colonization and disease as they work to retain and rebuild cultural values, practices, and languages. The land and water of the NCWAS four-county area provided for these Indigenous People long before Europeans took the land and changed it forever.

Figure 1. Indigenous Peoples’ land

Geographic context

The NCWAS four-county area occupies 12,211 sq. miles (31,626 sq. km). That is roughly seventeen percent of the state of Washington and is slightly larger than Belgium (30,689 sq. km). Figure 2 illustrates the placement of the area within the state, bounded by Canada to the north, the Cascade Range to the west, and the Quincy basin to the south.

Figure 2. NCWAS four-county area

In the presence of escalating climate change, it is problematic to describe the climate of North Central Washington. Historically, the area experiences hot and dry summers along with cold winters. The area experiences all four seasons without the extremes felt in other parts of the United States.

Climate factoids:

The West is experiencing higher temperatures, lower snowpacks, drier forests and rising sea levels. (source)
Observers in North Central Washington noted that the extreme heat (114 degrees F in Wenatchee) in June 2021 may have contributed to many failed nesting efforts throughout the area.
There are fewer wildfires today than in the last 30 years, but today’s fires are larger and more intense. (source)
Drought effects are commonly responsible for drying of ephemeral ponds and small streams that provide essential nesting and rearing habitat for a variety of birds.
Birds, like the Anna’s Hummingbird, are expanding or shifting their ranges due to, at least in part, warmer temperatures.

The Character of the Land

A shaded-relief map (Figure 3) shows a portion of the Columbia Plateau. Several towns are shown on the map for reference. The Cascade Mountain range forms the west side of the territory. Rugged, alpine peaks punctuate the ridgeline in Chelan and Okanogan counties. The Okanogan and Columbia valleys, with moderated relief, are home to valuable agricultural crops. The north-eastern edge of the map is occupied by the Kettle Range.

Figure 3. Shaded relief map

The Columbia River forms approximately forty percent of the eastern boundary of the NCWAS area. The river enters from the north and flows 266 miles before leaving the NCWAS area. River miles (RM) are the measured distances from the mouth of a river (RM 0) to a specific point along its length. The major tributaries to the Columbia River are the Wenatchee River (RM 468), the Entiat River (RM 484), the Methow River (RM 524), the Okanogan River (RM 534), and the Sanpoil River (RM 616). Lake Chelan, the third deepest lake in the United States (1486 feet), winds to the northwest for 50-miles beginning near River Mile 505 on the Columbia River. Lake Wenatchee (2,480 acres) and Lake Chelan (33,344 acres) are the largest lakes in the four-county area. The highest elevation in the area is North Gardner Mountain in Okanogan County (8,956 feet msl). The Columbia River exits the NCWAS area in Douglas County at 598 feet elevation. Technically, the lowest elevation in the four-county area is found at the bottom of Lake Chelan. The lake is 1,486 feet deep – 386 feet below sea level – at its deepest point. The surface elevation of Lake Chelan is 1,100 feet.

Precipitation

The average annual precipitation of Washington State is shown in Figure 4. The map was prepared by the PRISM Climate Group, https://oregonstate.edu, Oregon State University.

Figure 4. Average annual precipitation

For the 30-year period (1961-1990), precipitation in the NCWAS area varies from over 100 inches/year at the Cascade crest to less than 10 inches/year in the southern areas of Chelan and Douglas counties.

Vegetation

The native vegetation of the four-county NCWAS area varies from dense, high-elevation coniferous forests to desert shrub-steppe communities. The temperate forests contain an extensive road network in much of the area. Many areas of private and public lands have been harvested, resulting in a mix of age classes and fragmentation of native plant densities. Deciduous forests and shrub communities provide essential riparian habitats for many bird species. Much of the native shrub-steppe has been converted to agricultural crops, primarily wheat. The shrinking shrub-steppe creates a significant concern for bird and wildlife species that are dependent on large areas of native sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, buckwheat, and grasses.

Figure 5 shows major vegetative communities as presented on the Data Basin website. You can discover greater detail if you visit their website and zoom in to specific areas. Additionally, the US Geological Survey provides a multi-level land cover viewer.

Figure 5. Vegetation communities

Recognizing the value of shrub-steppe areas, Audubon Washington and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently completed a multi-year community-science project: Sagebrush Songbird Survey. The three target species for the survey are: Sagebrush Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, and Brewer’s Sparrow. Currently, the survey results are being analyzed to develop conservation priorities. Learn more by following the link to the Sagebrush Songbird Survey website (https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2019/after-five-years-sagebrush-songbird-survey-ends).

There are nearly 2,000 Important Bird Areas (IBA) in the continental United States, 61 of which are in Washington State. Three IBA are in the NCWAS four-county area: Douglas Creek, Leahy Junction-Moses Coulee, and Banks Lake Complex. These IBA contain critical habitat for many shrub-steppe bird species. You can find more detail about each area by clicking on the link in the name to be transferred to the National Audubon Society IBA site.

Fire

Wildland fire is a complex environmental and social phenomenon. Fire has been, and will continue to be, a major factor in the lives of the birds, wildlife, and people that reside in or visit the NCWAS four-county area. Indigenous People used fire as a tool to maintain culturally important plants. Today, in a few cases, fires are allowed to burn in areas that pose little threat to humans in order to achieve historic fire patterns. Land management agencies and others are struggling to minimize the initiation, intensity, and size of fires, the majority of which are human-caused. Finger pointing at past management as a root-cause of forest stand conditions that foster fires needs to be tempered by an objective awareness that humans are increasingly moving into the forests or the interface between forests and urban/agricultural area. There is little doubt that fires today are larger and generally burn at higher intensities than previous times. Suppression forces focus mainly on protection of structures and the lives of humans and animals.

Fire occurrence and patterns on the land is complicated. Humans react viscerally to large areas that have moved from beautiful stands of trees or shrub-steppe vegetation to blackened stubs and ash-covered landscapes. However, research shows that fire intensity varies widely within a large fire area. When a fire burns intensely it can result in changes to the chemical and physical properties of soil. Approximately 20-25 percent of a large fire may burn at high intensity. Many areas that burn at lower intensity within a fire respond very quickly with new growth. Riparian communities, typically burned at moderate or low intensity, re-sprout quickly. Sagebrush communities, on the other hand, are slow to recover relative to the rate that invasive weeds find their way onto the disturbed sites. The establishment of invasive species after a fire may pose a longer duration threat to viable habitat for birds and wildlife than the fire that opened the site for weed encroachment.

Moses Coulee 2020

Residents in The NCWAS four-county area know fire. As a new fire season begins, land managers prepare for the inevitable ignitions. Citizens brace for reduced air quality due to smoke. Spring and fall seasons are marked by attempts to create fire resistant landscapes using prescribed fires. The magnitude of the job – hundreds of thousands of acres – means that progress is slow and priority setting is extremely important.

Figure 6 shows historic fire areas within the NCWAS area. The map is not complete but creates a quick impression of the extent of fire in the area. Study of the map reveals that many areas have burned several times. The Pearl Hill (223,730 acres) and Cold Springs (178,700 acres) are shown as deep red. Habitat for sagebrush-obligate bird species like the Greater Sage-Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse took a real hit from these fires. Efforts are currently underway to restore sagebrush species within areas that are critical for these species. It will be a long road to recovery.

Figure 6. Historic wildfires

Summary

Given the diversity of landforms, vegetation, and increasing numbers of residents in the area, bird numbers are dynamic and responsive to change. In the last six years, eBird records show that fifty four percent of the total number of species in the State of Washington have been documented in the NCWAS area. Use of eBird is increasing and researchers and citizens are looking at the data to learn about the birds in an area and to define where conservation priorities are highest. Climate change wraps over all physical processes in the area and guarantees that the future will continue to see changes in habitat as well as the birds we seek and enjoy. The physical and biological diversity of the NCWAS four-county area will evolve along with social and environmental changes. eBird is one way for all of us to monitor the changes at our local level.

If you haven’t already, consider signing up for a free eBird account at www.ebird.org. Your checklists and observations will become a valuable part of future understanding of the wild birds in north central Washington.

Raptor Ramblings – December 2021 – Mansfield

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Marilyn Sherling

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.

Here is a closer look. The eagle on the right is sitting on his kill, on which he was feeding a minute ago.

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.

As the Rough-legged Hawk takes off, we get a good look at its signature carpal patches.

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.

A cold perch! This Rough-legged Hawk is puffed up to keep warm.

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!

Rough-legged Hawk sitting on the erratic.

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.

It feels like the end of the world, and it WAS that cold.

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

Raptor Ramblings – December 2021 – Dry Falls Junction

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Marilyn Sherling

Today’s survey got started a little late. The tire pressure light on my car told me that the air in one of my tires was low. I didn’t think it was a very good idea to take off on a more than 200 mile trip to the middle of nowhere, with the possibility of a flat tire. So, I went into town to take care of it.

After that, we took off to drive our survey route on what was an absolutely beautiful day. It had snowed the day before, and with the blue skies today, the landscape sparkled and glistened!

We headed up Pine Canyon, went through Waterville (making the obligatory stop at the Highway 2 Brew for Chai Tea and a Mocha) and on through Moses Coulee. As we climbed out of the coulee and headed south of the Highland Schoolhouse, we could look back to the west. It’s amazing to see the expanse of the plateau, the cut of the coulee, and the Cascade Mountains in the distance.

We continued on east, eventually arriving at Atkins Lake, a non-lake because of a couple past dry summers. We took a look at the rock piles in the vicinity. There are many rock piles scattered across the landscape, and in years past this is where we have seen the Snowy Owls. It is a little early yet for them to arrive, although last year we did see one in December. The year before we didn’t see any until February, but then we saw seven! We looked over the rock piles, but no SNOWs. Maybe next month!

Looking west – A few of the rock piles in the Atkins Lake vicinity, with the Cascades in the distance.

Continuing on, we turned on Rd 4 NE and saw an adult Bald Eagle in a stand of trees. We don’t usually see BAEAs up here.

The Eagle decided to depart after we stayed there too long.

As we pulled off the road to watch him, out of nowhere came a NOHA (Northern Harrier) chasing an AMKE (American Kestrel). They put on quite an acrobatic show as the NOHA turned and dived and the AMKE evaded. Eventually the AMKE flew deep into the center of the trees and the NOHA departed. As we watched, we observed a second AMKE also in the trees.

A Northern Harrier in pursuit of an American Kestrel.

The second American Kestrel decides to stay put.

Our survey this month revealed a large number of Northern Harriers, with the majority being males. The large numbers of Rough-legged Hawks (RLHAs) we have seen in the past were nonexistent today. We only saw three. The NOHAs were very active in the first three quarters of our route, bouncing along just above the ground or hovering above the fields as they hunted.

Often, we will look in the distance and see a little bump on a rock pile. The binoculars will sometimes reveal that it is a raptor and sometimes it’s just another rock. There is one place on this route which has a rock that has been the subject of debate more than once. But that’s a story for another time.

As we passed the little area named Mold, we spotted a bump sitting in the field. When we stopped to look with our binoculars, we could see it was a NOHA. We watched, hoping that it would lift off and fly. As it sat there, another NOHA came along and hovered right over it. We wondered if we were going to see some territorial displays, but then they both flew off together.

Here is a summary of what we saw:

Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 4
Northern Harrier 13
Bald Eagle 1
Rough-legged Hawk 3

eBird use is increasing in North Central Washington

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Bruce McCammon

A “birder” is a person who watches wild birds for enjoyment. An eBirder is a person who writes down their bird observations and submits them to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site, eBird. The eBird database is global and growing rapidly. Today there are over ONE BILLION bird observations in the database.

The number of people who bird for pleasure increased during the pandemic’s first year. Being restricted by the virus meant that people were at home more and looking out their windows. People discovered eBird and began to record their local sightings. Along with the growth of the eBird community science database, some people began to look more closely at their birds. They began to read about birds and their biology. They learned about habitats and conservation needs. People joined local bird conservation organizations like the North Central Washington Audubon Society (NCWAS) or national organizations like Cornell or Audubon. This increased awareness of birds has to be a good thing.

The eBird data from the NCWAS four-county area shows a steady increase in both the number of checklists being submitted over time and the number of people who are submitting data to eBird. The two graphics below show the steady climb in the number of checklists submitted and the number of observers. It’s impressive! Will the trends continue? Time will tell. You can contribute by setting up a FREE eBird account and sending your bird sightings into eBird.

*Figure 1. The number of checklists submitted to eBird shows consistent growth*

*Figure 2. Number of eBirders increases*

While the number of eBirders in Ferry county is small relative to the other counties, the 82 eBirders represent 1.07% of the county’s population, the highest percentage of the four counties. When represented as a percentage of the county population, 0.83% of Chelan county, 0.56% of Douglas county, and 0.95% of Okanogan county are active eBirders in 2021.

Raptor Ramblings – December 2021 – Coulee City

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Marilyn Sherling

It is snowing at home as we prepare to take off for our survey. Not a good sign! However, upon checking the WSDOT road cams, the weather looks relatively clear where we are headed. So we decide to set off and hope for the best.

We arrive at the beginning point of today’s route at approximately 9:15 AM. There are very high clouds and it’s 32°F outside. But, it’s not snowing! And the visibility is not bad.

As we drive each survey, we enter information on a survey form that was created by Jeff Fleischer, the project developer. This form records the date, time, weather, survey miles, and route segments. The Coulee City route of 80 miles is divided into 15 separate segments. On each segment we mark down the number of each raptor species that we observe.

Survey Data Collection Form for the Coulee City route

Today, as we head up the coulee, driving north from Soap Lake, we observe Red-tail hawks and one, lone hawk flying high above us, too high to identify, other than the fact that it’s a member of the genus Buteo.

As we approach Park Lake, which is on the south end of Sun Lakes State Park, we observe two Golden Eagles soaring above the basalt. We stop and watch them for a while. They are magnificent!

Basalt cliffs of the Lower Grand Coulee.

Arriving at the conjunction with State Highway 2, we head east, go past the town of Coulee City, and on east to the town of Hartline.

Going south from Hartline we make a big, angular, figure 8, driving through miles of farmland, back through Coulee City, and down along Pinto Ridge. Even though we have the route form and our route map, we miss the turn off for two segments. After driving past terrain that we don’t remember from last month, we realize we’ve gone too far, and have to turn around. We backtrack and get on the right road again.

This is a new route for us, the second time we’ve driven it. I think next month we’ll have it down… Unless it snows 3 feet and we find that we have to change things! One advantage of the other two routes we drive is that we have driven them for the past two years, so we are familiar with whether the roads are actually plowed (like the county map says) when it snows. We know where we can go. This route, being new, still has opportunity for discoveries after it snows.

Here is a summary of what we saw:

Red-tailed Hawk 5
American Kestrel 9
Northern Harrier 1
Golden Eagle 2
Rough-legged Hawk 5
Unidentified Buteo 1
Great-horned Owl 1

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

Curious about hummingbirds?

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Bruce McCammon

It is possible to see four hummingbird species in north-central Washington: Anna’s, Calliope, Black-chinned, and Rufous. Of the four species, only Anna’s is resident year-round in much of the North Central Washington Audubon Society (NCWAS) four-county area. The other three species are migratory and leave for Central and South America during the winter months. eBird has recently released a new way to visualize bird species’ abundance and range maps. The page that shows this information for the Anna’s Hummingbird can be found by clicking here. The other three species, as well as over one thousand other species, in our area have their own pages to show this information. The index page for species information is here.

Hummingbirds are remarkable. They are small, fast, and curious. They are also highly protective of “their” nectar sources. Anyone who feeds hummingbirds for enjoyment has likely witnessed a hummingbird vigorously chasing others away from “its” feeder or flower garden.

Much is known about hummingbirds but there is still much to learn. For example, one question that we asked for years is “Do Anna’s Hummingbirds nest successfully in north-central Washington?” The answer is “yes”. Successful nesting and rearing of young Anna’s were documented in Wenatchee in 2021. While we suspected that Anna’s were nesting and fledging young in our area (we’ve seen nests), the photos of young in 2021 are the first proof that Anna’s are successfully hatching young in north-central Washington.

But one year of observation does not prove that there is persistent nesting and rearing in our area. Please be alert to any hummingbird nesting in your local area and let us know. You can send an email to us.

Other nagging questions we have deal with the identification of which nectar sources are used by our hummingbirds. Are these sources native plants? Introduced plants? Feeders? When do hummingbirds use their preferred nectar sources?

Anna’s Hummingbird and young, April 2021, Wenatchee, WA (photo by Bruce McCammon)

NCWAS introduced a website page to provide a quick way to access current information about hummingbirds in our area. It contains current literature relevant to the frequently asked question “Does feeding hummingbirds during winter keep them from migrating?” One of the listed references comes from Project Feederwatch and provides a succinct summary to dispel the common myth that winter feeding keeps hummingbirds from migrating.

” Your nectar feeders will not stop the passage of birds that have decided to go south. What your feeders might do, however, is help more sedentary individuals survive and pass their genes on to similarly inclined offspring.”
Emma Greig, Anna’s Hummingbirds moving north, Project Feederwatch, 2016-2017, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

To gain fundamental information about hummingbird presence and abundance in our area, NCWAS is launching a community-science project to formally document hummingbirds four times each year. Solstice and equinox dates were chosen to conduct protocol-guided surveys for one hour on each of the four dates. You can learn more about this project by clicking here. The background information in the article describes how you can participate in this valuable community-science project.

The hummingbird page also lists many other scientific articles and contemporary references. Check out the hummingbird page by clicking here.

We hope that making these resources available helps you become more informed about our hummingbirds and helps you enjoy them in your yard or out in nature.

Raptor Ramblings – November 2021 – Dry Falls Junction

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Marilyn Sherling

This was a day for sighting Falcons!

My house was engulfed in fog this morning, but a look at the WADOT cameras showed clear skies up on the plateau. Sure enough, as we headed up Pine Canyon, the skies cleared and it turned into a beautiful day. This morning, we are three. A friend, Joanne, wanted to ride along, as she is interested in learning more about birding, and we were glad to have an extra pair of eyes.

We arrived in Waterville and, or course, had to make a stop at the Highway 2 Brew for a Chai tea before we headed east on highway 2. Our route begins at the Highland School House, which is 64 miles from home. The total drive miles on the survey route are 112. We stop to record the time and weather, zero out the odometer to check the miles and turn on the tracking app on my iPhone. We are using a tracking app to record the route, in the hopes of helping to create a database of digital maps for all of the routes in the project. Here’s a photo of our beautiful, clear, day at the school house.

Start of the route at Highland School House

The first part of the route goes south from the Highland School and makes a large loop which ends up back on Highway 2. Usually this segment doesn’t yield a great number of birds, but today we see three American Kestrels and one Northern Harrier.

Back on Highway 2, we head east to Atkins Lake. This is the area where we usually see the Snowy Owls after the first of the year. Atkins Lake is kind of a misnomer – at least, this year. In years past there has been water in the lake bed – teaming with waterfowl in the spring through fall. But this past year was so dry and hot, it all evaporated and there is no water at all. Likewise with the Vernal Ponds which are a little ways north, and further along on the route, there are no ponds this year. We are hoping for LOTS of snow this winter.

About halfway through the route, I take a look at the tracking app on my phone and discover that it is not turned on. I would swear in a court of law that I had turned it on at the beginning, but it’s not on now. So, I guess we won’t track this route until we drive it again in December.

Our route winds around east and then north to Saint Andrews, which was almost totally destroyed in the fires last September. St. Andrews Lake is not much of a lake this winter. We keep winding around up to the Vernal Ponds on Heritage Rd (Rd. L NE), and, there are no ponds. This year we decided to change the place where we eat our lunch. In the past we have stopped and eaten SE of Sims Corner. But in the 10 lunches we have eaten at that spot in the past two years, we have never seen any raptors. So, we decided to stop at the Vernal Ponds and eat, hoping we might spot something. And, we did! We saw a male and female Northern Harrier and a Rough-legged Hawk. I don’t think we would have spotted any of them, if we were just driving through.

We encountered a surprising number of raptors today, I think the highest count we have ever seen on this route. We saw 11 American Kestrels, 15 Rough-legged Hawks and FOUR Prairie Falcons! That’s a good count! Besides the raptors, we saw multiple Ravens, a Northern Shrike, three pheasants and 61 mule deer.

One of the spots where we usually see Northern Harriers.

Here is a summary of what we saw:

Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 11
Northern Harrier 6
Rough-legged Hawk 15
Prairie Falcon 4

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

Raptor Ramblings – November 2021 – Mansfield

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Marilyn Sherling

An altogether excellent day! We spotted a Gyrfalcon! And when that happens, it is an excellent day!

The beginning point of the Mansfield survey route is 75 miles from home and the total survey drive equals 93.7 miles. I picked up Amanda, and we headed north to Orondo, and up Pine Canyon on Highway 2 to Farmer. From Farmer we drove north on Highway 172. On this road we spotted seven Rough-legged Hawks and one Red-tailed Hawk, but, we can’t count these birds as we are not yet to our designated route. Just before Mansfield we turned north on the Bridgeport Hill Rd (Rd.B NE) to N. Oil Rd. You can see the starting point on the map below.

It was a beautiful day, with a very high layer of stratus clouds, no wind, and a brisk 29°. We headed down N. Oil Rd. and turned to Penny Lake, where we spotted a Bald Eagle. In the spring Penny Lake, though not very large, contains a large amount of water fowl. But in the winter, it is frozen over. In the past, we have seen Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Harriers, but today there is one, lone, Bald Eagle.

Our route takes us south towards Mansfield and then east to Road H, where we turn left and head north all the way to Highway 17. As we are driving slowly along, we scan the multiple rock piles which are scattered over the fields. Fortunately, there is little traffic on these dirt roads, and no one tries to hurry us along.

As we approach Road 19 NE., I look at a rock pile and say to Amanda, “What is that?“ We stop and I pull up my binoculars. Amanda pulls up her camera. I get a good look at the bird sitting on top of the rock. It has a distinctive malar stripe and is quite large, much larger than a prairie falcon. As it lifts off, we get a view of the wings and we both say, “Gyrfalcon!” Amanda is snapping away with her camera. She didn’t get any pictures with good enough quality to post, but they were definitely good enough to confirm our identification. We are thrilled with our find!

From there we head north to Highway 17, east to Leahy Junction and south to Sims Corner. From Sims Corner we head west on Highway 172, taking a couple of side roads up through the fields and back. From there, we head to Mansfield and south to the north end of Jameson Lake. We were told that Golden Eagles nest in the basalt cliffs, and we have seen them there in the past, but not today. From Jameson, we had back to Mansfield and west to Rd. C NE, where we drive through wheat and grass fields to the end of our route. We have not seen the usual variety of raptors today as we have on this route in the past. Even though we don’t record them, we usually see a coyote or two up in this area. They were not out today. However, we did see 112 mule deer, which is always fun.

Here’s a list of what we saw today:

Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 1
Rough-legged Hawk 12
Gyrfalcon 1

How many bird species in North Central Washington have been entered into eBird in 2021

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Bruce McCammon

eBird continues to gather bird sightings at a rapid pace. With over 1 billion entries, the database is a rich repository of bird data that allows us to explore numbers, species, timing, and distribution of birds around the globe.

Two immediate questions you might have about the birds in North Central Washington are: “Which species have been seen and reported to eBird?”, and “How many species have we seen this year?”

Bird sightings and eBird “ticks” accummulate throughout the year. Many people start a “year list” on January 1st each year to track the number of species they see during the year. eBird allows us to expand that idea by looking at all the species that people report within the NCWAS four-county area. The graph below shows the progression of numbers of species seen during 2021. The data are current as of October 31, 2021. It is fairly easy to see that by the end of January all the “low hanging fruit” sightings are recorded. The numbers swell during Spring migration and now, when the season turns cold and the mirgrants are gone, we see seasonal waterfowl and a few rarities. The total number of species seen in our area in 2020 (270) is shown for comparison. Five more species than in all of 2020 have been reported as of October 31, 2021. How many more will be added? Time will tell.

Starting in 2022 I hope to provide a monthly list that shows the species accumulate during the year. The list of the 275 species seen so far in the NCWAS area in 2021 is below.

2021 species as of 10/31/21
American Avocet
American Bittern
American Coot
American Crow
American Dipper
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Pipit
American Redstart
American Robin
American Three-toed Woodpecker
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
American Wigeon
Anna’s Hummingbird
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Baird’s Sandpiper
Bald Eagle
Band-tailed Pigeon
Bank Swallow
Barn Owl
Barn Swallow
Barred Owl
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Belted Kingfisher
Bewick’s Wren
Black Swift
Black Tern
Black-backed Woodpecker
Black-bellied Plover
Black-billed Magpie
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Black-headed Grosbeak
Black-necked Stilt
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated Sparrow
Blue Jay
Blue-winged Teal
Bobolink
Bohemian Waxwing
Bonaparte’s Gull
Boreal Chickadee
Boreal Owl
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brewer’s Sparrow
Broad-winged Hawk
Brown Creeper
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bufflehead
Bullock’s Oriole
Bushtit
Cackling Goose
California Gull
California Quail
California Scrub-Jay
Calliope Hummingbird
Canada Goose
Canada Jay
Canvasback
Canyon Wren
Caspian Tern
Cassin’s Finch
Cassin’s Vireo
Cedar Waxwing
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Chipping Sparrow
Chukar
Cinnamon Teal
Clark’s Grebe
Clark’s Nutcracker
Clay-colored Sparrow
Cliff Swallow
Common Goldeneye
Common Loon
Common Merganser
Common Nighthawk
Common Poorwill
Common Raven
Common Redpoll
Common Tern
Common Yellowthroat
Cooper’s Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Dunlin
Dusky Flycatcher
Dusky Grouse
Eared Grebe
Eastern Kingbird
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Eurasian Wigeon
European Starling
Evening Grosbeak
Flammulated Owl
Forster’s Tern
Fox Sparrow
Franklin’s Gull
Gadwall
Glaucous Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Golden Eagle
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Gray Catbird
Gray Flycatcher
Gray Partridge
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Horned Owl
Greater Sage-Grouse
Greater Scaup
Greater White-fronted Goose
Greater Yellowlegs
Green-winged Teal
Hairy Woodpecker
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Harlequin Duck
Harris’s Sparrow
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Hooded Merganser
Horned Grebe
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Iceland Gull
Killdeer
Lapland Longspur
Lark Sparrow
Lazuli Bunting
Least Flycatcher
Least Sandpiper
Lesser Goldfinch
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Yellowlegs
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Loggerhead Shrike
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Dowitcher
Long-eared Owl
Long-tailed Duck
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Merlin
Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Chickadee
Mourning Dove
Nashville Warbler
Northern Flicker
Northern Goshawk
Northern Harrier
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Pintail
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Northern Shoveler
Northern Shrike
Northern Waterthrush
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Orange-crowned Warbler
Osprey
Pacific Loon
Pacific Wren
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Parasitic Jaeger
Pectoral Sandpiper
Peregrine Falcon
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Pine Grosbeak
Pine Siskin
Prairie Falcon
Purple Finch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red Crossbill
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Red-eyed Vireo
Redhead
Red-naped Sapsucker
Red-necked Grebe
Red-necked Phalarope
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rock Wren
Rough-legged Hawk
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Duck
Ruffed Grouse
Rufous Hummingbird
Rusty Blackbird
Sabine’s Gull
Sage Thrasher
Sagebrush Sparrow
Sanderling
Sandhill Crane
Savannah Sparrow
Say’s Phoebe
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Short-billed Gull
Short-eared Owl
Snow Bunting
Snow Goose
Snowy Owl
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Sooty Grouse
Sora
Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Towhee
Spruce Grouse
Steller’s Jay
Stilt Sandpiper
Surf Scoter
Swainson’s Hawk
Swainson’s Thrush
Swamp Sparrow
Townsend’s Solitaire
Townsend’s Warbler
Tree Swallow
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Turkey Vulture
Varied Thrush
Vaux’s Swift
Veery
Vesper Sparrow
Violet-green Swallow
Virginia Rail
Warbling Vireo
Western Bluebird
Western Grebe
Western Kingbird
Western Meadowlark
Western Sandpiper
Western Screech-Owl
Western Tanager
Western Wood-Pewee
Whimbrel
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-headed Woodpecker
White-tailed Ptarmigan
White-throated Sparrow
White-throated Swift
White-winged Crossbill
White-winged Scoter
Wild Turkey
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Willow Flycatcher
Wilson’s Phalarope
Wilson’s Snipe
Wilson’s Warbler
Wood Duck
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-billed Loon
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Raptor Ramblings – November 2021- Coulee City

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Marilyn Sherling

This is the first part of a continuing narrative describing our participation in the Winter Raptor Survey project which is going on in Washington state. This project was developed and is coordinated by Jeff Fleischer of East Cascades Audubon Society out of Bend, Oregon. We are a mother/daughter team (Marilyn and Amanda Sherling) belonging to North Central Audubon Society. We drive three survey routes each month, beginning in November and going through March. Usually on these routes, I drive and Amanda photographs and we both count. We travel pre-approved survey routes and count the various species of birds of prey. These “Raptor Ramblings” will be a brief accounting of some of these trips.

The survey we are embarking on today is a brand new route. It was added by Jeff Fleischer, the developer, as he seeks to expand the survey area in Washington state, and Amanda and I have taken it on. It is named “Coulee City,” as that is a center spot in the area covered.

As with any area in North Central Washington, we usually encounter snow in the winter. One challenge in outlining a route is determining what roads get plowed after it snows. If it isn’t plowed, we can’t drive it. When we started this project, I downloaded maps from the Douglas and Grant County websites which show the roads that are plowed in the winter. That way, I can compare it with the route Jeff gives me to see if all the roads are drivable, and make necessary adjustments. Of course, once it snows, we get the real test as to whether the map is accurate. But it’s a place to start.

The Coulee City route starts at the north end of the town of Soap Lake and finishes in Hartline. The total mileage for this route is 80 miles, and the starting point is 62 miles from my home in the Monitor area. I pick up Amanda in East Wenatchee and we head to Soap Lake.

There are thick clouds, high overhead and it is 46°F, with a little wind. We head north along Highway 17 along the lakes in the coulee, Soap Lake, Lake Lenore, Alkali Lake, Blue Lake, and Park Lake. We scan the skies, hoping to see a Golden Eagle, or perhaps a Gyrfalcon hunting waterfowl. Fortunately, along this stretch of road there are many spots to pull over. I’m driving relatively slowly as we watch for raptors, and I frequently pull over to let the traffic pass me. We stop at the Dry Falls overlook before heading into Coulee City and going south on Pinto Ridge Road.

Our route takes us east from Pinto Ridge Road to the area south of Hartline. The map will show how the route winds around and ends up in Hartline at the end of the drive. Considering this is the beginning of winter season, we are happy with what we have seen today. This includes:

Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA) 10
American Kestrel (AMKE) 8
Northern Harrier (NOHA) 1
Bald Eagle-Adult (BAEA-A) 2
Rough-legged Hawk (RLHA) 7
Great-horned Owl (GHOW) 1