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. 

July 1 - Getting Loopy in the Blues

California Tortoiseshell - the mascot for my trip into the Blue Mountains

June 30th

Getting there is half the journey? Well, on this trip it was a lovely half, as I got to spend some time with my Mom in Yakima. But, goodness. My sleep was so mixed up. In the end, I was leaving Yakima for Dayton and mostly thinking of getting there and getting to sleep. Walla Walla County got exactly three stops from me. 

The first stop was near Prescott. I'd already picked up my 117th bird for my Walla Walla year a few miles back - a Swainson's Hawk on the ground - but thought I'd give the nice little riparian area west of town a peek. I leaned against the shady side of my car (it was over 100 degrees), ate a peach, and listened. Gray Catbird! (118) I'm pressing my luck a little bit with my Walla Walla list but hope to make up a lot of ground in the months to come, as fall migration pushes some interesting birds through the county. 

The second stop? Fruit. I am a sucker for a local fruit stand. I'd passed Nancy's Dream Garden Center in Waitsburg so many times this year. But with the weather as warm as it was, *something* had to be ready for sale. I found apricots (app ri cots? ape ri cots? I go either way with the fruit as a noun. Apricot marmalade, however, is always going to be app ri cot) and cling peaches (handed over with an extremely necessary stack of paper towels). Neat little store with a lot of garden offerings. The guy threw in an extra peach. I told him to keep the change. Then he added another peach. I knew I wasn't going to win this war of escalation, so I thanked him and continued through town. 

Stop three was at Whiskey Creek east of town. I got the wings and was not at all unhappy about that. I was also privy to some local conversations. In this case, what I picked up was about how upside down the world had become, where nearly everything a person might say is considered hate speech, but it's okay to burn flags "which should be considered treason". And. . . sir. . . with all respect. 

I grew up in times where we played "Smear the queer" on the playground. It's hard to communicate all of the different ways that this upsets me now. And I love our flag to the extent that I hope we always allow people to strongly express their belief that policies and actions of our country are doing an extreme disservice to that flag. I didn't get to hear enough of all of this conversation, and I really wish that I had. I often pick up pieces sprinkled in there that help me to understand people a little better - to find things that we might agree on as a starting point. I couldn't even imagine what those things might be in this particular case. Still, I walk into every situation with a belief that people can surprise me. 

Meal in me, I beelined for the Blue Mountain Motel, grabbed a room for the night, and collapsed. And woke up. And went back to sleep. And finally just got up. I figured I could nap on the road. Just too much good stuff waiting for me in Columbia County, where my year list now sat at 145 species. 

North Touchet Road

There are more than a few kinds of sparrows I expected to hear calling from these fields

In another recent post, I'd laid out some of the basics for the "five fingers" - the five Columbia County roads that run up into the Blue Mountains. From West to East: 1. Jasper Mountain Road 2. South Touchet Road, separating Jasper Mountain from Robinette Mountain 3. Robinette Mountain Road 4. North Touchet Road 5. Kendall Skyline Road and 6. Tucannon Road. I know that's six, but I'll stand by the finger analogy. 

Had to do this in two pictures, but here's the west half of the situation

And the eastern half
Pink dashes include 4620, Patrick Grade Road, which
CAN get you to Kendall Skyline but is a bit rocky!
On the southern end of Tucannon Road is a spur that I 
took later in this trip (July 2)

I've gone up five of these six roads (all but South Touchet) and always turned around at some point. Some I'd gone up multiple times - a little farther each time as the days got longer, and the snow melted away. Today I had dreams of not turning around. I drove up North Touchet, stopping now and then to listen to Veeries, Western Wood Pewees, Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers, and Chipping Sparrows. I got to Bluewood Ski Area and found the road that would help me make the loop happen. 

NF 64

I followed only the short stretch of NF 64 that connects these major routes
North from the end of the orange line is 6437 (to Chase Mountain)

The pavement ends, and things get a little rougher, but not a lot! NF 64 is a road I'd seen earlier in the year but had just not considered exploring. I'm sure that there was snow on it at the time, but today I was encouraged, as others had dropped some sightings that had me encouraged: Rufous Hummingbird and Canada Jay. 

NF 6437 - Looking back towards NF 64, and the hills that held NOPO and CAJA

Abundance codes would tell you that these birds are not all that rare in Columbia County - both of them listed as Code 2 birds. Looking at the frequency of sightings on eBird tells a slightly different story. Rufous Hummingbird is the 124th most frequently seen bird in the county over the years. Canada Jay - 134th. A dozen higher coded birds are recorded more frequently. So, they are at least among some of the harder Code 2 birds to find in the county, and this was the part of the county that seemed to be best for finding them.

Eudrepanulitrix sp? - part of the Geometer moth family that gives us inchworms

 My target list was longer than two birds, and I had some other ideas of possible birds I might find during the trip. 13 in all, so I figured I might find... five?? That would feel like a normally productive trip. I actually pulled up a little ways up NF 6437 for my first stop. What a fun stop here! I actually am tempted to follow this road up a little farther some time, to look at what appear to be some large fields at the far end of the road - Great Gray Owl habitat?? If I knew more, I might say no. It's fun knowing just enough to stir the imagination, but not enough to prevent exploration. 

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

I tooted for Northern Pygmy-Owl, bringing in some Western Tanagers, Cassin's Finches, and getting me a flyby from a Rufous Hummingbird (146 for the year list - a number I'll track parenthetically) AND a Calliope. The nice thing here was that I'd seen all three of the common hummingbirds in the county. Given that most of the hummingbird feeders in Dayton always looked unattended, this was helpful. 

Cassin's Finch

I had a Red-naped Sapsucker here, which gave a nasal call before flying past me and onto the far side of a tree. Common Ravens gave crazy calls from the far side of NF 64. 

As I returned to NF 64, I noticed that, wow, there were some pretty orange butterflies up ahead. I should try to get a picture. Oh no, they're flying ahead up the road too fast. Too bad OH here are two more. . . I don't know the exact moment that I realized that I was in the middle of a huge movement of pretty orange butterflies (California Tortoiseshells, it would seem), but these were not shy butterflies. "I want to land on you!" "Nahh... I'm good Mr Butterf..." "I want to land on you, and so do all of my friends!" I was not without them during my entire time on this loop. There were easily thousands of them.

There were plenty of flowers in bloom as well, which also meant plenty of pollinators. At one point, a yellowjacket flew into my car. I've freaked out in similar situations but was okay this time. I have actually had yellowjacket bites, so I'm less freaked out about them. It's like... I'm not scared of bees, or the unknown, or small spaces. Even a pair of these problems is a minor inconvenience: a familiar "bee" in an enclosed space. But I've had unknown stinging insects in my car before, and there was trauma. Not literal crying, but my soul crying out in panic, I suppose. 

I did come across a good number of these pollinators that I'd not seen before, but they were not in an enclosed space, so I was also fine lining up the camera fairly close for pictures.

Still following the loop, and occasionally tooting for Northern Pygmy-Owls, I got a response: a trill from a NOPO (147). As I was scanning trees for the owl, I also caught calls from two Canada Jays (148). The road surface got a bit rocky in places - not rocks on the surface but embedded in it - so it was a little jarring during some short stretches, but the views were amazing. Wilson's Warblers and Pacific Wrens, two species that had been a little more challenging to find in other parts of the county, were heard on this little loop.

The road finally joined up with Kendall Skyline Road. To the south, I could have followed this to Deadman Peak and Table Rock, but I continued north to start looping back towards Dayton. Immediately, I thought the open spaces here would be good for Dusky Grouse, then flushed one from the side of the road! (149). The bird flew across a small meadow and over a ridge. I tried to locate it and listened for some booming to no avail. 

Dusky Grouse Habitat

Continuing along the road, it was more butterflies, and more butterflies, and another Dusky Grouse flushed from the roadside. This time, I was able to hear the bird softly clucking from deep cover in a tree. I also spied, and just barely caught a picture of a Turkey Vulture (150) cruising along the ridge. 

Turkey Vulture

150?? I'd already found about as many of my target birds as I had expected to find. On this particular stretch of the Kendall Skyline, my other hopes were for woodpeckers (American Three-toed or Black-backed), or Brewer's Sparrow - a species that I was surprised to see on several eBird checklists. I usually associate this species with sage, and it's not just me: Brewer's Sparrow Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Parnassian Butterfly

The bottom part of the species account grabbed my attention. This species is tightly associated with sage... except for the Timberline subspecies. But then I looked at eBird (just now, not in advance of my trip). And I got this map: 

Reports of Brewer's Sparrow (Timberline subspecies) on eBird

So, I do not know. I DO know that I approached a hillside with a lovely snag forest below, and listened for woodpeckers, only to be immediately greeted by Brewer's Sparrow songs (151). And it was not one, but two. I could not for the life of me coax the birds out into the open. I pished, but have no playback, and didn't really get any responses from the birds, who sat in place and continued to sing from cover, right through my initial pishes. So, I just sat and enjoyed the song while continuing to keep my ears open for any thokking from woodpeckers. Part of the song reminds me of a lawn sprinkler - not the "normal" part where it's clicking forward, but when it is rapidly clicking in reverse. 

Chipmunk! I believe this is a Yellow-Pine Chipmunk

I drove past Godman. I was starting to get a little tired, a little hungry, and I had no real leads on the woodpeckers of interest. I made a stop at a few points along the way - one of which produced Green-tailed Towhee (a toughie in our state!) and yet another Brewer's Sparrow. 

You'd think this image would be close enough and clear enough for an ID
But I'm presently stumped!

Back in Dayton

I got back to the hotel and debated with myself. Am I more tired? Or hungry. I really had slept poorly over the last two nights, but it was already after noon. I decided to try the Mexican restaurant right next door to the Blue Mountain Motel. It had been hopping the night before, with plenty of cars out front, but it seemed less busy now post-lunch. 

I got food. The service was lovely. I'll even say that, given the number of cars there the night before, they probably have some very good food. I just got a pretty greasy quesadilla - the first time I've needed to start grabbing napkins to kind of mop up the grease around the food. 

And with that, I walked back next door and crashed. 

Pale Swallowtail (just unloading some more of the pictures from earlier in the day!)

A few hours later

I woke and looked for two pieces of information: What time should I be out looking for Common Nighthawks, and what time does Buckwheat Brewing close? The first answer surprised me, perhaps because I didn't look at things carefully. I was looking for the time on observations that included Common Nighthawk. Nearly all of them were in the 6 o'clock hour. In retrospect. . . I did not look at the duration of those reports! So, even though it seemed a little early to me, I thought I should get out the door. 

Tucannon Road

Black-billed Magpies and Brewer's Blackbirds

This trip up Tucannon Road initially had an endpoint at Rainbow Lake. In my head, I was trying to think... at what time can I leave, and still get back to Dayton before dinner options close? I drove to the intersection of Tucannon and Hwy 12 with a few target species in mind: Swainson's Hawks, which seemed to have a cluster of sightings in this area, and Eastern Kingbirds, an easy enough bird in farmland, I figured. 

One of many Red-tailed Hawks

What an interesting road this is. Far narrower than any of the other "fingers" that run up into the Blues. Every so often things open up into larger fields. I doggedly checked every single field for a bit, assuming that there would be a raptor for each, and that one of them would have to be a Swainson's Hawk. Each stop gave me opportunities to listen and look for nighthawks and Eastern Kingbirds as well.

 So many Red-tailed Hawks. 

Bad lighting got me excited about an American Kestrel as well, thinking it might be a Merlin. But it gave such a clear kestrel call, that I was quickly disabused of that notion. 

And all of my kingbirds were Western.

I got to the point where the fields thinned out, replaced by trees. Curious about my return timing, it looked like I'd be pushing things, so I pulled over at Blue Lake, a little bit short of Rainbow Lake. I figured if nothing else, I could enjoy the insects around the lake as I listened for nighthawks. 

I looked at my watch. 7:00. I had figured that leaving about ten minutes earlier would have been ideal, so I dashed to my car and started heading back to Dayton. I went over Patit Road and got distracted by a couple of Red-tailed Hawks along the way. The first one, in my binoculars, didn't seem to have a belly band, and I thought maybe I had a Swainson's Hawk. . . outside of the fact that it otherwise looked exactly like a Red-tail. Closer inspection at the motel later confirmed this. 

The second was on the ground with prey. That prey turned out to be a Western Rattlesnake.

Back just in time to get a salad and a pint in Dayton. Early to bed, early to rise, I presumed. 

Tastes like chicken, I've heard

Lorquin's Admiral

Damselfly sp?

Green Darner, I believe

Another Damselfly sp? 

Fritillary sp? 

Red Columbine