May 20th - A Moderately Large Day of Birding in Columbia County

So, basically did you do a "Big Day"?

Big Days in birding are so well-planned and focused. Additionally, they've got (in their purest form), strict protocols for anyone hoping to formally submit an entry. I wasn't aiming for anything of the sort. I just wanted to hit a LOT of habitat at a good time of the year and add a lot of birds to my year list in Columbia County. 

And where did that year list stand? 98. My last post ended with only talk about securing a hotel room in Dayton, but I remembered (after hitting "Publish") that I'd added a Columbia County year bird at that late hour. After securing a room, I'd gone out to get some things out of my car, and I was greeted by some Vaux's Swifts, circling and calling overhead. 

For anyone just now jumping into my blog, it may be nice to take a look at a few different links here: 

My plans for 2025. Just to clarify the context for this whole business.

My running tally and needs list. This gives a clear picture of what I have done this year. I do kind of wish I had it set up to go in reverse and show which birds I needed *at the time*. I may find a way to make that visible somehow. 

If all of that has you interested at all in how I got to 98, you might enjoy going back to the first post of the year and following it down to this point. 

Get out the door, buddy

Sorry, I just needed to make sure you were ready for a pretty busy day. I gave myself the same admonishments that morning. Lists ready, camera battery charged, and some clear ideas of target species. All of that and even mapping out what time I'd drop things off in my car, eat breakfast, and hit the road. I think in the end, I was leaving the Best Western in Dayton at 6: 15. Not bad for a place with a 6:00 breakfast. 

Ready?

Robinette Mountain Road

There are a lot of little fingers of roads that make their way up into the Blue Mountains in Columbia County. I am writing this in June, after I finished exploring more of them, so I really want to explain the geography of all of this. 

Jasper Mountain - if you head south from Dayton, this is as West as you can go while still staying in Columbia County. If you want to head South from Jasper Mountain, there is even Mount Pleasant Road, which takes you a little farther before dead-ending. 

South Touchet Road - The Touchet (TOO shee) River runs through Dayton, and is fed by the South and North Forks, which drop out of the Blues. If you look down and East from Jasper Mountain, you are looking at South Touchet Road, which follows the valley formed by the South Fork. This road dead ends south of Mount Pleasant, not quite turning into Walla Walla County. 

A stop along Robinette Mountain Road
Looking along the South Fork Touchet River Valley
Jasper Mountain reached along the ridge on the far side
Also - onions. So many onions. All day.

North Touchet Road - This road follows the North Fork and takes you all the way to Bluewood Ski Area. A conversation for another post!

Robinette Mountain Road - This road runs between the North and South Forks, taking one up to Robinette Mountain. 

Leaving town, I had the usual suspects - starlings, robins, and quail skittering off of the road. And why do I say quail instead of quails? Why would it sound weird to hear that someone saw "a bunch of robin", rather than "a bunch of robins"? The best I can come up with? If it is typically hunted, dropping the s is more common. This is not factual - merely my best guess. Does it fit with your usage? You heard a lot of grouse, but not a lot of grosbeaks? 

A singular Yellow Warbler - one of so many

Windows down, I drove at a speed that was fast enough not to have people pull me over to ask if everything was okay, but slow enough to hear things, and to keep my checklists from scattering all over the place. I didn't record the exact speed for this, but science would benefit from that number. I stopped at a nice birdy spot. Yellow Warblers (99) everywhere. All day. The world contains MANY Yellow Warblers. But I also heard a Lazuli Bunting (100). I got binoculars up and found the bird alongside a Black-headed Grosbeak (101), which jumped away before I could get a picture. 

Lazuli Bunting

Warbling Vireo (102) was another early addition, and Mourning Doves, much like Yellow Warbler, were seen eeeeverywhere. So many Mourning Doves. There's nearly always a Mourning Dove within 200 yards of you on the road in Columbia County. I can't prove this with complete certainty, but I believe it to be true. 

Mourning Dove

While still down on the lower segments of this road, I heard a flock of Evening Grosbeaks (103) flying overhead. Not an easy bird in the county, and I was happy to get them! Then, at another stop, as I was trying to catch some birds in flight, probably Cassin's Finches, a raptor rose from a tree where I had not previously noticed it. I snapped some pictures: 

These I threw on Facebook, because I know that separating juvenile Bald Eagles from Golden Eagles requires good birders. I also knew that the birding group I was posting to had some good birders, and some others that would post some interesting things. I sat back and watched. . . 

There were a lot of posts simply stating an identification with no reasoning. There were some that posted pics of raptors with field marks on the upperwing (something I could not find), and a few that dove into details about the picture that had them leaning towards one identification or the other. The person I trusted most was a person who changed their mind. There's something transparent and sincere about this. I'd love to see it more. Being able to see the whole thought process. People hesitate to put ideas out there because they might be wrong. Or they put things out there that are wrong, and don't have the capacity for budging. I thought it was very cool indeed to see someone changing their mind and explaining why. 

In the end, I did go with this person's identification - Golden Eagle, because the tail showed banding - something that Bald Eagles do not show in any plumage. 

Western Tanager Male

Western Tanager Female

I finally got high enough to get into the trees. This is when some other species started to show up - Western Tanager (104), Hammond's Flycatcher (105), Orange-crowned Warbler (106), and Townsend's Warbler (107) all hit my ears. Old friends letting me know they had come back for the season. Also, Yellow-rumped Warblers (108). I normally don't have a problem finding these birds in the winter on the west side of the state, but this was the first I'd come across them in Columbia for the year. 

Lewis's Woodpecker on that snag

Higher still, I was looking over a slope where I'd heard MacGillivray's Warbler (109), when I heard, then saw a Lewis's Woodpecker (110). It landed in a tree in front of me, letting me watch it work up the snag. I'd seen reports from a different part of the county, saying that the birds had been seen on nearly every dead snag during a trip. When I got ready to leave the spot, four more LEWOs came flying in, lending credence to the claims. On the way up, I also heard Savannah Sparrows (111) from a spot that seemed perfectly appropriate, just a little higher elevation-wise than I expected. 

And on up to the "top". I saw that the road did continue, but it looked sketchy enough at this point. I got out and walked and listened. At the top of Robinette, I had a surfeit of warbler songs to listen to: Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, Orange-crowned, and MacGillivray's (112). I heard what I thought was Nashville once. When I got into my car, at the end of this stop, I saw that Nashville was a code 4 bird. . . and wanted to hear at least a second call. I did not, and I let that one go. 

Cassin's Finch

Here in the mid-elevation pines, I also got Western Tanager (113), and Cassin's Vireo (114). The vireo is one that I've become a silly stickler about. A few years back, on a field trip with someone who had contributed deeply to the Merlin app, I watched a Cassin's Finch singing, and then, as soon as the exact same bird switched to its vireo-like call, the trip leader called out "Cassin's Vireo!" And folks, I'm as flawed as anyone. I'd love to see an app that instantly registered my first impression of what I'd just heard! lolol. BUT, at least in regard to vireo-like calls in Eastern Washington? The actual vireos (Cassin's and Red-eyed) have some structures that set them apart. It's worth hearing out the "preacher birds" and deciding on their identity at the end of the "sermon".

Cliff Swallows in a muddy pasture

As I do these posts, it's always interesting to try to tell the story, and then to go back and look at the numbers in parentheses. Do they match the numbers from eBird?? Here, they do not. Robinette Mountain added new species all the way up to 118! So, what did I miss that I didn't tell you about?? Barn and Cliff Swallows, noted on the way down at a farm: (115, 116). Northern Rough-winged (117) was another swallow species that I picked up along the way. I wish I could remember exactly where, but to be fair, I've had them at many stops since.

Also, Western Flycatcher (118) heard at the top. This is a species that had been split into Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatcher at one point. . . but have since been lumped back. I'm happy with Western Flycatcher as an ID. My list for this little jaunt? 39 species. Birds added during the jaunt? 20 species. Over half of the birds I'd seen and heard were new for the year! What a nice decision, to head up this road. There is simply no way that any trip this year will add 20 species for my year list, making this, by some measure, my best list of the year! :D

Pittman Road

I couldn't imagine missing this spot. Blue-winged Teals migrate through the state with a mid-May peak. I didn't expect them, but this was due diligence. I got to the ponds, and found the expected Mallards and Canada Geese, as well as an unexpected Green-winged Teal. No Blue-winged, but I got some comfort from knowing I had at least checked off this box. More Northern Rough-winged Swallows here. As promised, Robinette Road was not the last place that I saw this species.

Lewis and Clark State Park

Here, I did a quick walk while texting Chris Lindsey, who had made a decision to run out to the county and do some birding. In our texting, and then in a call, we figured that his biggest need was to hit the mountains, while my biggest need was to hit the lowlands. During my little stroll, I picked up two species - House Wren. . . sorry, Northern House Wren (119), and Yellow-breasted Chat (120). 

I'm sitting here, writing this post after my June post, and am shocked at how many species I have added *since* then. It's fair to say either that Columbia County has plenty of birds, or that I have been planning things out well, or both. 

Regardless, once I confirmed that Chris and I wouldn't be meeting up for birding, I took the roads south. 

Sorghum and Thorn Hollow Roads

Gosh I loved this road back in January. I don't know that it was the birds, per se (although White-breasted Nuthatch was a *great* find back then), but it was a place that I was longing to get back to. There were some nice little stretches where things were more or less full of trees; there were farms, empty spaces, and that one pond. I didn't add a single year bird during this stretch, but I still loved it. I think the most interesting sighting in here was a sign cautioning me that tromping into this privately owned field could introduce me to rattlesnakes. Noted!

Kellog Hollow Road

I broke the post up here only because I felt the need to do so on eBird. This was just the road that would get me most quickly back to the main roads. Along this stretch, I finally got my first Western Kingbird (121), and a Bullock's Oriole (122) along a wet stretch of trees. I kept thinking that there would be an Eastern Kingbird, having found one in Walla Walla County the day before, but none showed up for me (spoilers) for the entire rest of the day. 

Western Kingbird, making a temporary escape from my vehicle

That Loop that I Do

Coming out in Starbuck, I considered going right to the Tucannon River Mouth but instead did that loop that I do - heading down to the Lyons Ferry KOA (where the store was now open!), circling up to Fletcher Road, and then back to the highway. I had hopes of picking up a Lark Sparrow in here somewhere, but it didn't happen. I thought in my head that it may have just been a little early for them, but this is (according to all bar charts) a great time to find them. I think it just comes down to them being a code 3 bird in the county, and this not being the best spot, or possibly time of day to catch them singing.

Tucannon River Mouth

Sweat Bee - one of the least likely things to kill me on this walk

I had talked with Chris about some of my hopes for this hike. One of these hopes was Blue-winged Teal. "Well, that's kind of a Hail Mary. . . " was the response. And is it though? I have thought about this assertion, off and on, in the weeks since I made this trip. From a football perspective. . . no, just because of the simple fact that it's May, rather than December. And what defines a Hail Mary? In football, it's done when there is little time to do much else, OR when one needs to catch up. A Hail Mary is not something that one does in a situation where they are ahead, or where time is not a concern. 

I still feel like this was the right time to go. At a time that is the peak migration time for Blue-winged Teal, at the spot that would be most friendly to the species, it just made sense to me. And it wasn't the only species I hoped to find here! Even in late May, I figured that there were multiple species of shorebirds, herons, etc where it might be the best possible time to find them coming through. Earlier would have, of course, have been even better. But for the birds that I needed on my list, this was a well-timed visit. 

Early on the trail, I ran into a species that was new for my year list. Western Rattlesnake! It rattled from the trail's edge, startled as I passed. I really wish this was at least countable, but yaknow... maybe just not getting bitten should have been enough comfort, yeah?  For a moment, embarrassingly enough, I was only interested and surprised at a sound that was unfamiliar. "What kind of insect could make this sustained, fervent rattle??" I thought. I figured it out eventually!

It wasn't the only snake I encountered. I had another move through the grasses at my feet, about halfway through the hike. That was also about the time that I got the first look at some American White Pelicans (123), cruising around overhead. Canyon Wrens called from the nearby basalt, and. . . the grass got taller. . . and the branches started to hang lower. In my head, I started thinking that the real danger for me might not be snakes, but ticks. 

Of course, as I thought this, I watched another snake slide silently away from the path. I do wish I knew my snakes. It was generally green, and I *think* it was unmarked. Seemed to be a few feet long, and large. . . like not too small to be a rattlesnake! But without seeing markings on the back, and without hearing any rattles, I was just assuming it was something else. Guess I'll have to get a snake book next? 

Plenty of mud down below at some points. I could well imagine Least Sandpipers showing up seasonally here. On this day, I got a different species of Sandpiper - Spotted (124). 

These are listed as a code 4, but it's hard for me to imagine them not *being* in the county and findable every year. Not reported ever year? Sure, I could buy that. Most importantly, I did get a picture. This means my dreams of putting together a "Shorebirds of Columbia County" calendar are moving forward. I at least have January and February covered!

Finally at the mouth of the Tucannon, I had more looks at American White Pelicans, Mallards, Canada Geese, and Buffleheads. None of the dreamed-for Blue-winged Teal. During the walk back, I got more Bullock's Orioles, and a Western Wood Pewee (125). Almost to the car, I put my scope down to move one of the barbed wire gates and noticed something on the tripod. 

Tick!  :(

Mental notes. Bear spray, boots, bug spray. I need to make it out of this year safe and sound!

Little Goose Dam Road

I took the road to the dam, pulling off at Texas Rapids HMU, where I picked up another new bird for the year. Brewer's Blackbird (126). I don't think it even sunk in at the time that this was a new year bird. There had been so many new birds during the day that seemed like proper summer birds. Brewer's Blackbirds, findable year-round at my local Target parking lot, seem like year-rounders. The bar charts on eBird seem to disagree, and this was in fact a great time to start seeing them!

At the dam itself, there were more pelicans, and finally an Osprey (127), although it continued upriver after I got my camera out. 

Can you find the pelicans in this picture? :D it'll take a download and zoom, but they're in there.

Riveria Road

I use this road every time I head out along the Snake River. It takes me back through different habitat - grasslands where I really ought to be able to find a Grasshopper Sparrow, maybe a Vesper Sparrow? But it was bupkis today. Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Common Ravens, and cows. Always cows. 

There oughta be sparrows here, just saying

I landed in Dayton, got some pizza from Buckwheat Brewing, secured a much more economical room at the Blue Mountain Motel, and made an evening run for owls. 

Jasper Mountain

Birdweb is one of the sites that I use frequently. It has been helpful for sorting out seasonality and habitat preferences for a lot of birds in the state, and the description of Jasper Mountain gave me lots of reasons to head up. "You might see a Great Gray Owl."? I'm in! This is a species that I'd not seen before, and the area seemed like a good place to have a try for Northern Pygmy Owl as well. It was pretty late when I got up there - probably later than I'd really want to do for a proper sit-and-scan, but it was still a beautiful stop. 

As close as it was to Dayton, I figured I could make it my first stop in the morning and then drop into Walla Walla County on my way out of town. 

After doing some tooting for Northern Pygmy Owl, 
I noticed that a couple of Western Bluebirds had come in quietly to see me

Back to Dayton, and beddy-bye with 127 species for the year. What a moderately large day of birding!