It was wonderful to resume the long-term guided bird walk through the Walla Walla Point Park area and into the Horan Natural Area. This was the third trip to this area since the North Central Washington Audubon Society started offering activities after a long Covid shutdown. Ten people gathered at 07:30 at the Walla Walla Point Park parking area (free parking, bathrooms- thanks Chelan PUD). We discussed the current Covid-19 protocols and most people were comfortable being outdoors and maskless as long as we attempted to stay socially distant (not easy on a bird walk).
We set out on a cool (46 degrees F) walk to the end of the sand spit separating the swimming lagoon and the Columbia River. Being on the sand spit allows views of the Columbia River, the lagoon, and riparian shrubs/trees along the spit and south shore of the lagoon. Today, the birds were limited in number.
We examined the cottonwood trees and shrubs along the river bank as we moved from the sand spit area to views of the Columbia River bay area. I had previously scoped the bay to see if any of the recently reported sandpipers were there. I saw one in the distance and consulted with another birder who I encountered. We were not confident in our ID but believed that it was a Pectoral Sandpiper. Another expert birder, Joe Veverka, told me that he, too, had seen what he thought was a Pectoral Sandpiper there that morning. Still, without confirmation, I left the bird out of our eBird checklist.
As we started to head to the Horan area our youngest group member, Halley Knifeton, spotted a Great Egret that had just flown into the bay. We all got good looks at the bird. It soon flew off into the trees to the north when a Great Blue Heron came in and assumed possession of the bay. Great job finding the egret for us, Halley. Thanks.
The Horan loop trail offers a lot of varied habitats as you walk the short loop. Trip leaders need to keep an eye on the clock to stay within the advertised time for the trip. When we reached the edge of the cottonwood gallery along the Columbia River we were treated to a VERY birdy setting. Western Wood-pewees were in abundance and gave us several great looks. We reluctantly left the area after about twenty minutes of watching a great variety of species.
Since we are never far from the cars, this bird walk allows people to leave early if they have other commitments. A couple of our group left us and the rest of us continued on. A few people in our group had the newest version of the Cornell Lab’s Merlin app on their smartphones. This version allows you to make an on-site recording of birds you hear. The app diagnoses the calls using the sound library at Cornell and gives you real-time identification. It seems to be remarkably capable of filtering out background noise and finding faint bird calls. It’s another good tool for anyone trying to learn birds and their calls.
We returned to our cars about fifteen minutes past the advertised ending time. I take that as a good sign that the participants were enjoying the beautiful morning and each other. I sure did.
The species we saw include:
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Common Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant (H)
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-pewee
Warbling Vireo
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
European Starling
Gray Catbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Western Tanager