August 5th - I Try to Find Birds, and Get Burned

After a day out with Mom, and getting back to Yakima, I admittedly had no immediate plans. The assumption was that I'd go home, and that may have made some sense, but . . . I was also sitting at 119 species in Walla Walla County, with time ticking away! I got onto Highway 12 out of Yakima, got to the exit for I-82, and turned south. 

I had no reservations, no plans - just a full tummy from dinner in Yakima, food packed in a bag, and some vague ideas about where I should do some birding the next day. The Tri-Cities were my best bet for lodging for the night. Right up against Walla Walla County, they'd give me an opportunity to bird right out the door the next morning. I made one stop, got turned away from a full hotel, got some phone numbers, called one and got a quote, then beat it by $50 dollars next door to that quote. Pasco would be my home for the night!

I spent some time on the computer, confirming my hunches. Yes... if I got out the door early and drove into the Blues, I could add some good Walla Walla birds. But I had my eye on all of the shorebirds, most all of them sitting right across the Snake River from me. I had a few other birds in mind, but shorebirds would be the focus!

Hood Park

After a late sleep-in, I bee-lined it for Hood Park. Nothing to stop and see here! All I had to do was drive the loop. I needed Western Wood Pewee for my year list, and I had this vague recollection that I had heard one at Hood Park, when doing the drive-swap with Mom. I rolled the windows down and drove the loop, listening to at least five of the flycatchers calling from the trees as I drove - (120 for my Walla Walla year - something I'll track parenthetically). 

My next stop was one that had just never been on my radar. 

Donangelo Overlook

This is a birding spot in McNary National Wildlife Refuge, along Burbank Slough. I've been to Burbank Slough many times during the year but had no idea that there was a second viewpoint into the slough. I found a little parking area, with wide open water to my left, and a busy little marsh to my right. I did something that I almost always seem to regret - walking out with just my binoculars "to see what the situation was". I always end up walking too far, finding good birds, returning to my car for my camera, then walking back never to see them again. 

It was par for the course on this particular morning. The most interesting missed photo opportunities being a Common Nighthawk (121 for the year), and a Black-crowned Night-Heron (122). What a strange place, I figure, to find a nighthawk! But I heard the peent call, turned back to my car and saw it circling low, white wing patches clearly visible. At the marsh, I had clapped, hoping to get a response from a Virginia Rail, but got the BCNH flying out from the embankment right below me - the last one I would see for the day!

After returning with my camera, I did get some return calls from some rails (123), but none from the Soras that had been reported. Without playback, I was just going to have fewer birds than many observers. There were a lot of ducks. That is exactly how much I can confidently report about the waterfowl in the pond! At this time of year, most of the Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teal have changed plumage, leaving them not easily distinguishable from one another. 

Deeper back, I found some shorebirds. At first, just a Black-necked Stilt, and a Greater Yellowlegs (124). Then, looking closer at some of the shoreline, I found a handful of Long-billed Dowitchers (125) and Least Sandpipers (126). In this general area, there had been other less common counterparts for all three of these shorebirds seen in the last few days. Lesser Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers, Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers had all shown up on different lists. For that matter, even the Killdeer I saw at this pond had their fancier cousins, Black-bellied Plovers, sighted in recent days. 

And here starts the burning. It was a sunny August day... and I was looking at birds for extended periods of time. Facing the same direction and juuuuuust looking. My birding days are so often drive-look-drive, or maybe a hike, where I am deliberate about putting sunscreen on before I go. But hey... if I'm just stepping out of the car? The car that's just a short walk away? In my head, that is not a sunscreen situation. Add to this - I was feeling extra stubborn with all of these other shorebirds out and about. Today I would be the Good Birder who gives every bird the once over!

Casey Pond

This was a part of McNary NWR that I had never visited. The big draw for me? Forster's Terns. I have seen this species exactly three times, over a decade ago, along the Columbia. These sightings were all in the same year - July and August of 2014. I was excited to see some again! 

I knew I would be sorting through some Caspian Terns. Arriving at the pond, I found plenty of gulls! Most appeared to be Ring-billed, but there were likely some California Gulls mixed in. Caspian Terns quickly announced their presence as well. I gave each of them a long enough look to see bill color. Others were sitting with head tucked in - cap showing, but nothing else. 

And hey. . . after a dozen years, I admittedly blew it here on two simple facts: Caspian Terns are about the size of a Ring-billed Gull. Forster's Terns are much smaller. This may have kept me off of this endless scanning through the flock of gulls. . . but ignorance always has a price! 

There were a couple of different highlights here. An Osprey nest had two young - tended to by at least one parent. And this pond had fish! At one point, I caught a picture of a Caspian Tern, fish in its bill, and there were many jumps from the water during my time at the pond. Great Egrets and American White Pelicans were roosting here and there on the islands and sandbars in the pond. 

And dowitchers. So many dowitchers. Eighty or more, and I could find none that gave me the flat-backed look of a Short-billed Dowitcher. This was just one field mark of many, and not the one you'd use to diagnostically identify dowitchers, but a good start. Additionally, I took pictures of some of the dowitchers, hoping that the images might do better work than my scope in pulling out more diagnostic details. But the lighting was pretty bad.

Unrushed, I thought over my options. . . there were other stops ahead that could have some shorebirds for me. I was looking south, and the sun would be moving westward, giving me better sun here later. So, off I went!

Tyson Ponds

Nothing. Correction - there were some Killdeer. But other shorebirds? Nope! Just lots of cryptic ducks. 

Walla Walla Delta

Gulls from a bazillion miles away... pelicans... and one pleasant surprise! A Black-bellied Plover (127). 

I was surprised to see the bird so easily at this distance. They are, to be fair, pretty distinct looking birds!

With no sign of Forster's Terns, or any other birds of note, I figured it might be time to return to Casey Pond. 

Casey Pond

The return trip was worthwhile! I found not only two Black-bellied Plovers, but some smaller peeps, including both Least and Western Sandpipers (128). I found my attention drawn to a yellowlegs. I had some inkling that it might be a Lesser Yellowlegs but never got to hear a call. I did get pictures and decided in the end that this was very clearly a Greater Yellowlegs. It was interesting to poke around and find out more about identification. There were numerous differences, all of which helped to identify the bird. Some of them shifted as the posture changed but pointed at Greater in most images. 

I'd known of the rule of thumb with bill length - you look at the length of the bill and then continue back from the base of the bill to the back of the head. In a Greater Yellowlegs, the bill will be longer. In a Lesser Yellowlegs, they will be about equal. 

But new for me in the searches were two other points, both connected to the longer neck of the Greater Yellowlegs. They often keep that longer neck tucked down, kind of like a swan. This gives a neck/back angle that is a bit more pinched in a Greater, and more obtuse in a Lesser. On the front of the bird, you end up seeing a bit of a forward bulge on a Greater, from the neck. Lessers will have a smoother curve from chin to belly.

Again, posture matters. Different pictures may have pointed me towards Lesser on this bird if I just picked one of the field marks and one picture! But looking at many pictures of the bird, the field marks for Greater Yellowlegs show up again and again. Worth noting - the bill length is not going to depend on posture! This is what makes it such a nice field mark to use. It's still nice to add to the tool kit and find multiple marks to piece things together. 

The dowitchers. . . some of them were in better lighting now, but man, these still looked like Long-billed based on the posture, and few of the images clarified the barring/spotting question for the flanks (let alone any information about the tertials). I had to just call them all Long-billed Dowitchers, pack it up, and call it a day at Casey Pond! It gave me at least some comfort to see that other checklists from the same location and same day had come to the same conclusion!

Donangelo Overlook

One more time! I wanted to see if lighting, distance, or shift changes were going to bring any new birds to me. I got two!

First, the yellowlegs here helped me by giving clear calls for Lesser Yellowlegs (129). A simple tu-tu, and with a slightly different quality than Greater. I got some pictures that showed at least one of the yellowlegs clearly enough to confirm some other field marks, including bill length. 

And while looking at the pictures later, I found something I had completely overlooked. A phalarope, swimming next to the yellowlegs! No smudginess to be seen behind the eye, so this was a Wilson's Phalarope (130). 

There is still so much work to be done in Walla Walla County! And I really do have dreams of adding some species to my Columbia year list (which stands at 155). Additionally, I do want to be mindful of my life lists in both counties! I want to have all counties to 175 someday, so it behooves me to make those life birds a priority. In Walla Walla, the Wilson's Phalarope was one of five new life birds for the county. My life list there is at 161. Funny to see that there are over 30 birds that I've seen in other years that I just haven't seen this year!

In Columbia, it's a very different story. My life list there is at 158 - only three different from my year list! The only birds I've seen in the county that I've not seen this year? Common Nighthawk, Caspian Tern, and American Coot. Nighthawks are the only code 1 bird I have not had this year. The tern and coot are both code 2 birds. The only other code 2 bird I'm missing is Barn Owl. So, beyond this short list of birds, every one that I'm trying to find is going to be code 3 or higher. 

It will be difficult, but maybe this will at least be the last time I get a good sunburn? We shall see!

August 4th - Into the Blues with Mom

Short post, but it's part of the story of the year, so I did want to share. There's not going to be many pictures (I always seem to take fewer when I'm out with others), and almost no mention of birds. 

"I've never been to the Blue Mountains."

This was from Mom, during my July trip. She and Dad had come out to Washington State from back East when they were 30ish. I was their youngest at the time (with three older siblings) and have no memory of times before being in Washington. They had made the move in a very "Go West" fashion, leaving behind their parents and siblings to get a new start in life. Dad had worked at Campbell's and found that he had a calling in the food industry - something that would eventually lead to many years as an industrial engineer in Yakima, as well as South America. Washington had the right mix of opportunity and beauty necessary to bring a young family across the country. 

I have some memories of living on Lake Shoecraft, and later on Lake Goodwin - both in the seven lakes area of Snohomish County. A kid couldn't ask for more, with frogs to catch in the nearby creek, and berries aplenty in the woods and along the dirt driveways leading from house to house at the lake. We climbed trees and put forts in them. We learned about stinging nettles, and how sword ferns could combat their sting. 

Birds were not on my radar much at all. I do remember hearing the word "coot" as my parents talked about the rafts of birds out on the lake. I even have a vague recollection of a hummingbird encounter, with the bird dashing within a foot of my face, hovering, and flying away. But it was always back to berries and forts for me. 

And maps. 

A United States atlas was tucked into a shelf in the living room, and something about maps - very early in life - grabbed my imagination. I know that at one point, I started tracing the path of the Columbia River through the state - even beyond. What really had my interest was the network of tributaries that fed the Big River. It may have puzzled me - at a point where two rivers meet, how do they decide which one gets to keep its name? But the names themselves had my interest, and decided to start writing them down, one by one, as I traced each little tributary back to its source through the hills and valleys.

And I have no idea what would have been passing through my parents' heads as they watched me buried in these maps. The expression "just let him cook" had not yet been born, but they did allow it, and maps have always had me. The recurring idea that these are Real Places, especially in light of how... many... places there are... it makes my brain explode without fail. I'm still doing the same thing, but threading multiple maps together - trail maps, maps of bird sightings, vegetation maps. . .

And they did take us places! Whether in-state or by plane, we had some fine family trips through the years. And in the state, having seven kids competing in sports at all kinds of levels led to a thorough exploration of the state over the years! But somehow, the Blue Mountains had been missed. 

Just like I missed the turn. 

We'd been driving down I-82, south out of Yakima, and I'd flat out missed the turn. For what it's worth, this stretch of 82 is *also* Highway 12. Our intended exit was the one where 12 veers east, away from 82, skirting around the Tri-Cities. I pulled up my gazetteer and saw there was another road heading in the right direction - Highway 395.

Folks... I live in Renton. We have construction sometimes, and we have traffic always. Mom avoids both of these during most of her time in Yakima. Her ideas for the day did NOT include sitting in traffic! But here we were. And I had to look this up right now... Why did Kennewick seem any more congested than Yakima? Yakima has a population just over 90,000. Kennewick is about 10,000 short of that... but the Tri-Cities together? Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland combine for a population of about 200,000! If they were combined, it would be the fourth largest city in the state. 

200,000 people situated at the junction of three large rivers - the Yakima joining the Columbia, and the Snake joining the Columbia about ten miles downriver. There are naturally some bridges involved. I think I just counted six in the area while scanning over this map. We were now set to cross the Columbia over the one that had construction slowdowns. :) We got *great* looks at the Blue Bridge, and at downtown Kennewick. 

We eventually made it out, and rejoined Highway 12 (I-182) from 395. Over the bridge, into Walla Walla County, and immediately to Hood Park for a driving switcheroo. We also made it a restroom stop at Hood Park. I went first and was asked "Is it half-decent?" I developed the rubric on the spot, considering some of the porta-potties and trailside outhouses I've visited. "Um... 45% decent." Mom disagreed after using the facility, giving it a 25% on her decency scale. 

And then it was across the open fields of North Walla Walla County. What fun to get to see some of this landscape through her eyes. We'd discussed some of the scenery earlier as we passed through the Yakima Valley - a couple of the river views are just lovely, and I have a fondness for the patches of sage here and there. It's interesting, because most people I talk to find these areas of sagebrush to be a bit of an eyesore. It's definitely something I can attribute to the birdwatching. I've had mornings in sage habitat that have cemented my love! But here, it was just open country... until some hills appeared in the distance. 

"Those...are not the Blue Mountains..." I said, stating the obvious a little, but also stating my ignorance. Another bit of searching brought me to this link - a YouTube video about farming in the Skyrocket Hills. At their request, I am sharing this link! What a fascinating story. As we started into these hills, Mom and I discussed exactly this - out in these steep hills, there were some *clear* decisions made to farm up to a certain point and no further. We imagined tractors tipping over, and the video seems to say "Yes. This happens." It's a dangerous place to be farming - putting lives and machinery at risk. 

On the heels of just having finished a chapter for a high school agriculture textbook, I'm well aware that it is as hard as ever for many farmers to make ends meet. Technology is giving them amazing tools to be more efficient with time and materials, but all of those tools come at higher costs. 

We snuck into the Skyrockets and marveled at the roads that snuck away from the freeway, in and around the hills. Eventually, we noticed tree-lined river valleys coming closer to the freeway, leading us to Prescott, then Waitsburg. Mom is pretty blue, and the predominantly red signage definitely got her attention. Although she also saw things that resonated with her rural sensibilities. A puddle of kids wrapped up in towels on a warm street corner after running through lawn sprinklers brought a genuine smile to her face. She really can find beauty anywhere.

We slipped into Columbia County and then into Dayton. Although we'd packed sandwiches, she was pretty enamored of the storefronts along Highway 12. We decided to hold onto the sandwiches and went into Locally Nourished for a lunch stop. Could we have seen more of the Blue Mountains, our raison du voyage, if we had not stopped here? Absolutely. Was stopping here the correct choice? Absolutely. 

Mom loved getting to see the local wares in this gift shop-slash-cafe. We sat and had some good sammies and bowls of pozole. I had also only-half-jokingly mentioned that we really needed to get matching t-shirts to commemorate Road Trip '25. To my surprise and joy, she was a fan of this idea, and we came out with our matching green Locally Nourished tees. 

Mom is a people-watcher. I'd add "to a fault", but given access to her people-watching dial, I would never dare dial it back. It was fun to watch her watching this place. She really doesn't miss things. And she is a writer (she's one book up on me... for now!) so her imagination is always active, interpreting the interactions and the expressions around her. It's not anything where I can nail down anything she pointed out or wondered aloud. It was just fun to see her here. Trust me. 

And I love her love of a good sandwich. So many sandwiches over the years - from her BLTs to egg salad to hoagies. Whether made or purchased, she has an appreciation for them. The ones at Locally Nourished made the grade.

We checked the All Saints Thrift Shop next door. I'm still on the hunt for a Columbia County mug, and I'm getting a little worried that I may miss out on that if I don't get hunting! For gosh sakes... if the town of Starbuck wanted to make mugs, all problems would be solved!

We finally got out and started towards our next destination - Palouse Falls! Now... Palouse Falls, I had noticed, was just a few miles outside of Columbia County. But I had perhaps not realized how far it was from Dayton. So, we started down the road a little ways before realizing that there simply wasn't time to squeeze this side trip into our day. 

We got the car turned around and returned to Dayton. Here I learned just how well I knew the area. Not that well! To be fair, I was used to relying on the GPS (crappy and outdated as it is) in my vehicle, so I had one hand tied behind my back. Add to this, Kendall Skyline Road, the road I intended for us to take into the Blues, is not exactly well-marked. On my map, Eckler Mountain Road is marked, and it leads up to Kendall Skyline Road. This matched my experiences. I'd gone up Eckler to Skyline several times. But there were no signs from 4th Avenue marking Eckler Mountain Road as we left town. At some point, I was certain we'd missed it, and we returned, finding a small road marked "Skyline Road". I took it. 

I don't know why, but little stretches of this road looked unfamiliar. I wasn't 100 percent sure that I was on Eckler. Occasionally another road would intersect with us, including signs for the intersecting road, but not for the one we were on. Uncertainty, the end of pavement, and miles of wheat fields around us. . . none of this inspired any confidence on Mom's part, and time was not necessarily on our side.

"Isn't the sky beautiful!"

"I can see skies from Yakima..."

My diversionary tactics immediately disassembled, it was heartening when I finally got a road sign marking our road as Eckler. At this point, we started to get some trees here, some trees there, and we could see a thick line of trees ahead of us. This provided some comfort, especially when we drove into them. Those first miles are a mixed blessing. Yes, being in the trees at least reinforces the impression that we were now "In the Blue Mountains". This phrasing came up many times. "Are we In the Blue Mountains?" "How many miles to the Blue Mountains?" and I was never sure exactly how to answer that! It's not like there's a line drawn, with "IN" and "OUT" on each side of the line... But being in the trees was some comfort. 

We also started to see one of the phenomena that I could only describe to others - all the dang butterflies. California Tortoiseshell butterflies had been constant companions during my last trip to the Blues, and they were still around! I could take pictures of some butterflies, but it's no substitute for driving the roads and being amazed at just how many of them had to be in the mountains. I had burst into laughter during some of these butterfly blizzards, and it was more than double the joy to hear my mom bursting into laughter beside me. 

We continued to pass the occasional driveway and mountain cabins (with Mom's mind almost certainly creating profiles of the residents), when we finally passed the line that I didn't think existed. Umatilla National Forest. There's a line that can support a good argument that "We are in the Blues now". Shortly after slipping in, we passed a spot with a lovely view. There wasn't the best spot to pull over, so I continued a little farther up the road. We got out... and I got washed by that lovely mountain silence.. one of the many gifts that these trips bring me without fail. 

"But the view back there was nicer... maybe we could head back to that last spot?" Mom noted. After a little walking this way, and a little that way, I completely agreed. We turned back and tucked the car into a spot on the side of the road, making sure Mom had enough room to step out. 

We got this picture:

And we were promptly circled by some massive bees. You can actually see in the picture - Mom's already making a run for it. But she did choose the right spot, yeah? :) We made a dash for it, got into the car and had a good laugh. I teared up a little at this point. 

My Patient Reader... I put these blogs together for a reason. We live in such a beautiful state. From the time I was a little kid looking at maps, I had a hunch that this was the case. And maps are just words, rivers, and contour lines. They don't show people. They don't show you farm boundaries and fences. They don't show you butterflies, political signs, and birds. I get out to these places to see something more than the maps, the pictures, the words. I blog about it because I'm hopeful that it gets you out there too. It gives me some joy when I hear someone has followed any breadcrumbs that I've left. To take Mom there, and to see her experiencing the place firsthand... 

Yeah, my heart is pretty full. 

July 2 - Birding from the Catbird Seat in Columbia County

 

Gray Catbird - one of many seen at Rainbow Lake

The expression "in the catbird seat" is used to describe a person in an enviable position. With a bottom-line goal of 150 species for the year in Columbia County, 151 was a nice total indeed. The long-term goal is to hit that number during a year list for every county in the state. I just realized that Columbia, being the 19th county where I had reached this mark, put me over halfway to 39. And then, as I was uttering some celebratory sentence, math kicked in and I realized that this is certainly NOT over half of 39, but just under. I'm still happy with the progress, and. . . clearly. . . I have some work to do in Walla Walla County now (where I went into this day with 118 species, and no planned stops in Walla Walla).

One target for the day was Common Nighthawk. It's an easy enough bird, just so long as you're out and about at the correct dark hour. 

I had gotten to bed early and was ready to leave pretty early in the morning. I gassed up at the Chevron in town. As the pump ran, I saw that the store itself would open at 4:30, in just 15 minutes. It was a little lost time, but a small cost to head out prepared for the day. At 4:25, I saw a car pull up and somehow imagined that this was the person working this morning. But then at 4:30, lights came on inside, and the door opened for us. Even when I walked in, I figured that I might need to wait for coffee to brew. Nope! Coffee was up and ready, and the food shelves were already full of warm food ready to go. 

"How early did you get here to get all of this ready??" I asked the gal behind the counter. "Ohh... 2 or 2:30". "And when do you get off for the day?" "Well, I have help coming in at 10, but I'm here until 3, so 12 hours." I noted her understatement of the time. "And how many days a week?" "Six. I take Sundays off." So, she was essentially working a double work week. I have made a mental note to support this woman (who was *despite* all of this, extremely pleasant at this hour of the morning. 

Rainbow Lake

I believe this was at the start of Hartsock Grade Road - almost sunrise

Windows cracked, I drove Patit Road out of town. This road runs nearly due east towards Tucannon Road. As it approaches the road, there's an elevation drop and a commensurate little "switchback" of sorts to get down to it (on Hartsock Grade Road). Birds were waking up, and I was able to pick up two dozen species just listening. None of these happened to be a Common Nighthawk!

The Tucannon River

I dropped down onto Tucannon Road and eyed all wires for an Eastern Kingbird. Eventually, I did find one (152 for the year list!), but down near ground level, flycatching at some bugs on the road. I pulled up and stopped the car, looking for where it had flown to, before I heard it calling from the far side of the field, completely out of sight. Spoilers - this was the only Eastern Kingbird I have seen all year! This code 1 bird has been a bit of a challenge. 

Red-winged Blackbird - Rainbow Lake

I arrived at Rainbow Lake and got the windows down. Red-eyed Vireo, and perhaps Common Nighthawk were the target birds. The vireo had been heard near the entrance to the park, in cottonwoods, so I gave these a good stop-and-listen. While I didn't find my target, there was a Western Flycatcher calling in this area - a bird that hasn't been all that easy in the county. 

Red-eyed Vireo habitat

I figured the bird needed time to wake up or time to travel from somewhere else to here. I crossed the bridge, and my attention was immediately drawn to the field next to me. 

I may have seen a single skunk, alive and walking about, in my life. That said, this was more than a fleeting glimpse. I got to watch this striped skunk loping across the grass, stopping and investigating the ground occasionally, then dashing out of sight across the road. Fun!

I continued from here to Rainbow Lake. I figured it would be a birdy morning and perhaps would hold a surprise for me. Almost immediately, I was surprised, not by the presence of Gray Catbirds, but by the sheer number of them out in plain view. It feels like 90 percent of my experiences with Gray Catbirds involve me peering into a bush, while they stay deep in cover, calling away. Today, they were out on the road, hopping around onto perches in sight, and even watching me curiously as I walked. 

Veeries and Willow Flycatchers were two of the most common birds heard during the morning. Spotted Sandpipers, code 4 birds, were heard and seen on the lake shore. I believe this was the third place I'd found them during breeding season. EBird has sightings of them about as frequently as Eastern Kingbirds, a code 1 bird.

Spotted Sandpiper 

Cedar Waxwing

eBird Checklist - 2 Jul 2025 - Rainbow Lake - 35 species

What a fun, simple morning of birding! Walking the whole loop was nice, and I had the lake nearly to myself. One couple arrived mid-walk to do some fishing (and there were certainly fish jumping). But there were no Red-eyed Vireos, and no other new birds for the year. I checked again as I left, and they were not found at the entrance either. So, my plan now was to do a slow drive up Tucannon Road, listening with windows down. This plan paid off, and I was able to hear a Red-eyed Vireo (153) giving its version of the preacher bird song. Clearer and more rapid than a Cassin's Vireo.

Curl Lake was not much farther. I had a great time here, watching Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Violet Green Swallows, and Vaux's Swifts dancing over (and sometimes on) the water. I also got an Osprey flying overhead. 

Northern Rough-winged Swallows

Panjab Campground to Meadow Creek Trailhead

Flycatcher - cannot remember which I had here!

There had been a recent sighting of Black-backed Woodpecker in this area - near Panjab Campground. I was enjoying a surfeit of birds for the trip, and it was still quite early, so I drove up to Panjab. 

Yellow-rumped Warber, checking its shoes for toilet paper

I could see why Black-backeds might be seen around here! There were plenty of snags, many with charred bark - the kind that they like to flake off to expose bugs underneath. I got out of the car, sunscreened, and started walking along the road with my scope, ready to investigate any flight, calls, or drums. 

I was really enjoying this, and I had dreams of eventually finding a woodpecker. But I looked back at my car. . .and saw a bear and cub crossing the road close to my car, about 50 yards back. I just missed getting a picture, but even more than a picture, I wanted to get back to my car. I waited for what seemed like an appropriate amount of time and started walking back. 

The trees that the bears walked behind

A dark form emerged from the side of the road. 

My patience for Wild Turkeys, at this point in the year, has grown thin. Very thin indeed. The bird saw me seeing it and did the typical panicked dash for cover. 

There are, please understand, hikes ahead of me in Columbia County. While my focus for now was deeper exploration of the roads, I really do want to get offroad! But my only cougar encounter in life occurred about three miles east of where I was standing, back in July of 2014. Having my first out-of-car bear encounter here. . . I'll just make sure that I have my bear spray on hand. Fun fact, there are also wolves in the Blue Mountains. Yay? 

The road dead-ended at the Meadow Creek Trailhead. Here, I scanned the trees once more and found at least one woodpecker - a Lewis'. This felt like the best I was going to get from the morning. I was content leaving more woodpeckering for the fall. I returned down Tucannon Road, with dreams of Lark Sparrows and Swainson's Hawks.

Majorie Road

Before I found a Chukar back in March on the Snake River, I had done some searching and found that this species had been sighted on Majorie Road. I thought it worth a try, with outside shots at my other two target species. Nearing the intersection, I got caught in traffic. Cows moving from pasture to pasture, with several members of a family helping in the transport. 

I was paused for a bit and chatted with the woman primarily managing the herd. I asked her about the barn on the property, and if it had a Barn Owl. Apparently, it does in some seasons, but the bird had not been seen during summer months. Students from WSU apparently have been out before to collect owl pellets from the barn. I asked if it would be fine to come out later in the year, knock on a door, and see about peeking in the barn, and I got an affirmative. Gosh I hope they remember me!

Up the road, I could see that this road could be very seasonal. It's very windy and steep. Snow or mud could turn it into a dangerous drive. It was not at all dangerous today. I climbed, stopped, took pictures. Drove further up, and repeated. It was pretty quiet! I got to the top, and I assumed that I was in Garfield County. My map disagreed! For the stretches of road right around me, I was squarely placed in Columbia still. 

I got excited upon seeing sparrow sized birds with strong facial markings on the fence wires, but all of them turned out to be Horned Larks. It made sense here on the border of an enormous wheat field. I watched them and enjoyed the light breeze on the warm morning. It was quiet, comfortable, and beautiful as far as the eye could see. 

Driving back down to Tucannon Road, I stopped once more for pictures of the road from above. At this point, I heard a Lark Sparrow (154) singing from the farm across the road. Yet. Another. Heard-only bird. I took it, and I was happy with it. I wasn't happy with the trend!

Not far down Tucannon Road from here, I stopped when I saw two hawks circling above the road. Upon inspection, the birds involved in this little spitting match were a Red-tailed Hawk and a Swainson's Hawk (155). I was enjoying great looks at the bird and also got to hear the slightly weak (compared to a Red-tail) call. 

"Don't you want to get your camera?"

"Nope, Swainy, I have plenty of time. Just going to watch you circle for a bit more."

"Oh for sure, no need to rush. I was just curi..." I ran for my camera while the bird was, in my head, mid-sentence. By the time I got back, it was nearly on a nearby ridge. I snapped a picture of a brown blob landing in the tall grass on the ridge. 

I took it. 

Homeward

I stopped twice more in Columbia, seeing that the time was nearing noon. The first stop was in Starbuck, where I finally caught the store with their kitchen open. I got a burger and fries - very nice. The folks in the store talked about the upcoming 4th of July weekend, and if the store had enough ice. On the way out, as I was paying, I asked if they sold mugs with "Starbuck" on them. The guy at the counter chuckled and said that a gal had offered to make some - he just hadn't heard from her since. 

My second stop was at the KOA. I just walked out to the water to see if any terns were out on the river. The only possibilities, squarely in Franklin County, were perched on some structures on the far side of the river and showed no signs of moving. I brought only my binoculars, so I didn't get any identification on these mis-countied birds. Northern Rough-winged Swallows flew in and out of the bank nearby. 

Signs telling the clouds what to do

From here it was a dash home, starting on Lyons Ferry Road (a mistake, my GPS believed), until it hit Highway 124. I stopped a few times to shoot some grain silos/elevators. (I realize that I don't know the distinction). I did add one more bird for Walla Walla County on the way through, catching a Turkey Vulture in flight over the freeway to give me 119 for the year.