January 18th - North Cowlitz Day Trip

Putting the 'owl' in Cowlitz

Imboden Road

I had actually been sitting around plotting and planning February trips, and the idea of a day trip to Cowlitz was in the back of my mind. Pushing ahead on some work projects carved out some space, and then. . . my Internet went down! I closed my laptop in the evening, looked at the clock and decided that if I couldn't work from home the next morning. . . Castle Rock must certainly have wifi!

Not wanting to give Xfinity too much time to fix things, I woke up at 3 something, checked the Internet, and started packing. Wanting to keep things as frugal as possible, this packing included my breakfast and lunch for the day. 

This trip was, owl-wise, not the best decision! The weather was a little drizzly, and a little windy as I slid into Cowlitz County. I'd entered along Imboden Road, which starts as Mandy Road in Lewis County. It was fun coming back to this spot! A few years back, when I'd adopted Lewis County for the year, Kevin Black and I had found a Tufted Duck on Mandy and had slipped into Cowlitz to look for a Ross's Goose that had been seen on Imboden. 

As noted, on this particular day, it was just barely too windy and drizzly to warrant a long stop in most places. Imboden eventually hits Barnes Road, and I continued South from there, stopping occasionally. Weather and geography by themselves are a challenging combination to understand. Add vegetation to that, and I'm sure there were reasons why I finally came to a pretty calm spot. 

With trees lining the East side of the road, I pulled off, got out, and went through my repertoire of owl calls, from small ones to big ones. Yahtzee! A Northern Saw-whet Owl (71st species for the year in Cowlitz) gave an alarm call from the trees above me. To be clear - this is enough for me. I know some folks aim for the visual, and make sure to hit the owls with a spotlight. For me, the conversation with an owl is enough, although I *do* wish that the conversation had ended with a normal call, rather than an alarm call!

I tried again along Barnes and found that it joined back up with I-5. 

Hm.

There were still some hours before daylight, so I decided to try a couple of spots up Highway 504. 

A couple of spots up Highway 504

Seaquest State Park was accessible, but it was a little breezy here, and not all that productive. There have been owl sightings (Great Horned, Barred, Northern Pygmy, Northern Saw-whet) at all times of the year, but I didn't think I'd get a response on this particular day, so I continued up to Canal Road. 

What a neat area! I did come across a few good places to pull over, listen, call. I also got to the end of the county road, with points beyond requiring a permit. There's also a sign here warning people to stay clear of the wild horses beyond the gate during foaling season. It was still quite dark, so there were no horses to be seen, but it definitely tickled the imagination to see this sign!

Boardwalk - Seaquest State Park

Canal Road is likely a spot I'll return to down the road, as several species of owls (all the ones above, as well as Western Screech and Barn) have been seen and heard along this road. I found some Canada Geese, Mallards, and American Wigeon on my way back to the highway, but nothing more. Seaquest did get a proper visit from me, now that the sun was up. I used the trails as an opportunity to shake out the legs. The one from the main parking lot swings out onto a boardwalk, taking the walker out over water, back onto land, and back and forth again. Common Mergansers, Double-crested Cormorants, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, American Crows, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were all seen and heard as I walked. 

It was also nice to get a little history lesson on Spirit Lake:

One of many informative signs along the interpretive walk.

Castle Rock

Despite having only one new species to show for it, I thought this had been a nice little bit of exploration, so I returned to Castle Rock, found The Vault - Books and Brew, and got settled in for some coffee and work. 

What a nice little place! I had a good spot with a plugin, and there were many other seating options, including little couches, sprinkled around the bookstore. Local art was on sale throughout the store, in addition to the books themselves. I didn't take advantage of the baked goods, sandwiches, or ice cream on this particular day, but I will be sad if that turns out to be my last trip to the Vault!

As I worked, I also exchanged a few emails with Russ from Cowlitz County. He mentioned a few birds that could be found if I wanted to take a look on Canal Road. I nodded as I read the texts but thought that a trip down to Woodland was going to be unlikely. I don't know exactly how long it took me to realize. . . This was not "Dike Road" from Woodland, but "Canal Road" from Youwerejusttheredude. 

One of the birds that had been seen regularly was a Northern Shrike - a code 4 bird that is seen not-quite-annually in Cowlitz. I was in. 

I took this video from the streets of Castle Rock. I was confused, trying to figure out where the music was coming from?? It was from speakers ON the light posts.

Back to Canal Road

Wetlands at Canal Road, near Toutle

Pushing through past noon, I finally got packed up and went back up the Highway to Canal Road. As described, out at the very end of the road (near the horse gate I'd seen earlier) there was a field above a wetland. Scanning and trying different parts of the field finally paid off, with the Northern Shrike (72) visible on a branch, perched very close to three wild horses. 

What a treat to get to see both! I don't know how common it is to get a view of them, but they are the only herd of wild horses in the western half of the state. I read a little more about them here.

In addition to the Northern Shrike, I picked up a Pileated Woodpecker (73) here, calling in the distance, and easily heard despite a light wind, and the grumbling of chainsaws in the nearby hills. I tried the water for Northern Pintails and Eurasian Wigeon but came up empty. 

Continuing back on Canal, towards the highway, I passed a pretty amazing feeder. Here I got my first Red-breasted Nuthatch (74) and Steller's Jay (75) of the year. Mourning Doves, Dark-eyed Juncos, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and six (!) Spotted Towhees also used the feeder. 

Home

Satisfied with the quick trip down, I returned along I-5, sweeping up to Imboden Road again and finding a Hairy Woodpecker (76) along the river. 

Day 4 complete

Six more birds. Worth it? It was three code 1 birds, a code 2 birds (the Pileated Woodpecker), a code 3 bird (the Northern Saw-whet Owl), and a code 4 (the Northern Shrike). From all I can tell, 150 for the year in Cowlitz is not going to be too hard! So, I have started to look at the possibility of 175 for my life list. 175 birds would mean seeing all of the code 1, code 2, and code 3 birds, roughly. Each time I find a higher coded bird (like the shrike), it eases a little bit of the planning. 

More than that, I really liked getting a first look at the Toutle area. I'd never birded there before, and I mean. . . wild horses! So yes. This was a nice way to spend the day for sure.