September 8th - Falla Walla

9-mile Canyon - one of several sparrow-laden destinations for me

I got out of Renton, not quite as early as I had hoped, but I was at least well-fed, well-rested, and as well-informed as I could be. Sitting at 130 species for the year in Walla Walla, I thought it a good time to look over my Needs Alerts in the county. Forty or so birds that I needed for my year list were mucking around in the county in recent weeks, with others ostensibly in the county or possibly passing through during my trip. I immediately started counting chickens before they hatched. 

It's par for the course for me. I see a sighting for a bird while on my computer in Renton and assume that finding it is going to be just that simple. I was goaded into this sense of ease by recent events in Renton. A Red Knot had found its way to the mouth of the Cedar River. This was a life bird for me, and there were many scopes lined up to assist in viewing. A few days later... a Red-necked Stint came through! I waited for my friend Kevin to make it up from Vancouver, and we got some lovely views of the bird. 

If these birds were so easy, how could it be difficult to find one of the many Brewer's Sparrows hopping around in Walla Walla County? Wilson's Snipe? Easy. I'd just seen a couple of them at the Cedar River as well. No. Problem. 

I'd at least become familiar with this kind of optimism, and the inevitable outcomes. I believe there are a few reasons that I head into these situations and come out with like. . . 1/4 of the birds I'm looking for. One, multiple stops for multiple birds drops your odds. Two, coming from another county, and not being familiar with the spots - this can mean missed birds. Three, birds fly. Four, I continue to hold onto the stance that there are people who are much more skilled at finding birds than me. They understand habitat. They have better equipment (even down to their app-filled phones that they use to play mob tapes... lol). They can hear the word "tertial" without their narcolepsy getting triggered.

McNary Wildlife Refuge

Uhh.... female American Kestrel? I cannot recall, but what an interesting lil puzzle!

And yet, armed with optimism, I arrived at my first stop in Walla Walla - McNary Headquarters on Burbank Slough. Here, there had been a few sparrow sightings. There was obviously a migratory push of all kinds of sparrows through the area, and a Vesper Sparrow had been seen... somewhere. With no more information than this, I just birded the spot, keeping an eye out for sparrows. In the middle of a warm day, they were notably absent or at least hunkered down. 

Just a phew falaropes

I did get to enjoy a pretty amazing sight - roughly 100 Red-necked Phalaropes skittering around on the slough. 

They really are pretty birds and are fun to watch. Honestly, 100 of any bird is fun to see. I had already seen these birds earlier in the year in Walla Walla, but I used the time to scan from one to the next. Red Phalarope had been reported for the site, although the eBird sighting that had popped up didn't include enough information to be all that convincing. Still, it gave me a nice opportunity to get familiar with the species right in front of me, including the dainty bill - much smaller than you'd find on a Red Phalarope. 

Late-staying Eastern Kingbird

My next stop was down Humorist Road - Donangelo Overlook. I got staring at a little pack of dowitchers. Most of them seemed like Long-billed, but one of them did seem smaller than its cousins, so I kept an eye on it. Flatter back, rather than a hunch-backed appearance; Looking closer, I could see a steeper loral angle (the lores, above the eyes, meet the bill at this angle), and in flight I was able to hear the most distinctive difference - the calls! Kew-too-too (Short-billed Dowitcher) and Too-too-too (Greater Yellowlegs) are similar enough for me to call them confusion species. But I had no Greater Yellowlegs visible as I scoped the ponds. This was bird 131 for the year (a tally I'll keep parenthetically as we go).

Possibly a Black Meadowhawk? Or nearly anything, given that it seems backlit...
The tail actually may have me leaning towards Black Saddlebags

Dodd Road

I have made some errors at this birding site! Most notably, I at one point took a road to the Tyson Ponds... that was not the road to the Tyson Ponds. This left me in the middle of a field, which I had to leave in reverse. I've also driven the length of it once, finding that it dead-ends in . . . gated places where I clearly would find no birds. But still, I was amazed that I got here... drove to the first two ponds... found no birds... and left. Had I even looked at my GPS, old as it is, I would have seen the ginormous pond just a little farther up. 

Saffron-winged Meadowlark - I feel pretty good about this, 
although I don't really do dragonflies!

And that doesn't even consider the blood ponds... a topic for yaknow, some other upcoming post when I make a return to the area in a couple of days. 

It's so hard to write about things in order, but I'll really try. At any rate, I was Oh-fer-six or something like that during my brief visit to the ponds. 

Walla Walla Delta

Too much water, too much distance, not enough mud. 

9-mile Canyon

There are two sparrows here - my camera was so excited to focus on plants
rather than birds CONSTANTLY through the trip
Not worth magnifying lol.

I'd heard good things. Clay-colored Sparrow was one of several species up this road that I needed for the year (Vesper, Brewer's, and Savannah being the others. Even White-throated had been popping up across the county). The sparrows on the road were mostly skillful at dodging my view. I did get one image that looks like it may be a Chipping Sparrow? Bad picture, but usually best to assume it's the bird that would *not* add to your list! 

The distinct dark bar through the eye is what had me leaning towards Chipping Sparrow
But then. . . it does not continue to the bill, so. . . 
Comments accepted. I have been on the west side for a couple seasons now, 
so Chipping/Brewer's/Clay-colored/Vesper's are not even close to being in my wheelhouse

The only bird of the bunch that I was able to find was a Savannah Sparrow (132). This was a code 1 bird that had somehow never made it onto my life list, let alone my year list. 

On my way back down the road, I passed another birder: "Did you see the Loggerhead Shrikes?" It was difficult not to turn back up the road to look for them, but it was getting a little late in the afternoon, and I needed to get a hotel room. It was still nice to check in. He was a semi-local birder who had come in to look for the Clay-colored Sparrow. It was fun finding out that he recognized my name from eBird posts. It's fun being able to put up breadcrumbs for people to follow!

Man. . . I don't know why I included these four pictures of a bird, but here they are. What do I see? 

1. Wing bars - two of them, with a dark brown (?) patch between them.

2. Eye ring - easier to see in some pictures than others.

3. Gray cap? Seems like that's what I'm seeing in the first picture.

4. Lighter coloring above the eye than below, and a light malar patch 

Go for it, hive mind! What sparrow are you seeing here? 

Walla Walla

I got settled in, squared some things around on the computer, and then set off for a chimney in College Place. Vaux's Swifts apparently use one of the "old school" chimneys here, as they are wont to do. It was just barely after sunset, and I suspected that was just late enough to miss the spectacle. Swifts can sometimes gather in the thousands, swirl around the chimneys near dusk, and then drop into the chimney rapidly. I saw no sign of any singles still flying around, so I assumed it was past go-in-the-chimney o'clock. Sad! With all of the birdy daydreams I'd brought to the county, I'd be ending the day with just two new species. 

I found an open bar where I could grab some food and watch the Mariners: Marcy's Bar and Lounge. Goodness... the food and beverages were good, and the conversations at the bar were exactly what I do these trips for. I chatted with regulars about fishery protocols, tree planting, and karaoke. My Irish heritage came up, and the guy I was talking to described an Irish good-bye to me - an expression I wasn't familiar with! He never did come back from the bathroom...Well-played, sir. 

Once the game wrapped up (with a Seattle victory - thanks, Etsy Witch!), I returned to my hotel and collapsed for the night. 

Even an unproductive day could not keep me from dreaming of all of the species I could find on the North Fork Coppei Creek Road!