March 13th - Smart Enough to Come In Out of the Rain? (Skamania County)

The jury is still out on the answer to that question. I would say if coming in out of the rain is smart, then I was intermittently smart on this soggy Monday morning. 

I'd gone to bed very early in my bunk the night before at the Society Hotel in Bingen. It had been drizzly and drippy the day before, and I appreciated the warm shower, the dry bunk, and the fireplace. I sat and did some reading the night before. Plain old leisure reading. I don't get enough of it in, honestly. I spend so much time sitting in front of a computer, I guess I just feel like. . . when I'm done, I need to get up and move. Get away from sitting and get away from words for a while. But a little Stephen King did me just fine for an hour or two after dinner. 

Even so, I'd gotten to bed early and found myself awake early, so I just got into the car and started the day in Skamania. 

At 2.A.M. In the rain.

Certainly, at this point, some readers are glancing up at the title for this post. . . and making some decisions. This is not unfair. But it's March, it's Skamania County, and there's owls. 

Special Owls

I'll take a page out of a friend's book here and refer to a certain species of owl as "Special Owls". General practice amongst birders is to treat these owls like Fight Club. Rule number one is that you don't talk about them. While the name change is pretty transparent and questionably helpful in maintaining their secrecy, I'll try to talk about them with some respect for their situation. 

Special Owls have had a rough go of it in our state. Yes, taking down old-growth forest where they nest has been a big piece of this. Add to that, Barred Owls have moved in and outcompeted Special Owls in all but the most marginal habitat. So we are down to . . . gosh I don't even know how many Special Owls left in the state. But it's a small and worrisome number. 

I have come across these owls three times before, and never planned. Stopping to think about the places where I had them, I would agree with the description: marginal habitat. Where would they have been before? Mid-elevation old-growth forests with a high canopy and lots of yummy flying squirrels to hunt. Barred Owls have moved into many of these areas, especially in easy terrain and in areas with lots of biodiversity. This has left the Special Owls areas in slightly higher elevations, often with lots of steep terrain around them. 

I got some ideas of where to go, in hopes of pulling over, stepping out of my car, and just listening to them actively calling. Just ideas - nothing I picked up from anything passed along from other birders. People know the potential impact of birders on these owls - especially birders who might use playback or calls, risking the attention of Barred Owls. My ideas never got put to the test, as a snowy road turned me back, but I still loved being out there at this hour exploring. 

Side of the road at the end of the road

I pulled over as the rain pattered heavily on the roof of my car, tilted the seat back, and slept. Occasionally I'd wake up and take stock of the rain. Occasionally it was lighter. I returned to areas deep in Barred Owl territory and called some - slowly moving along the road each time the rain returned. This did eventually get me a Barred Owl - species number 63 for the year in Skamania. 

Spring Creek Fish Hatchery

Yellow-rumped Warblers (64) were pushing through the park where I found myself at sunrise. Out on the East end of the county, and along the Columbia, I figured this was as good a place as any to start the day. On the river, I had scaup (many), and Common Goldeneyes. This had been a place where I'd found Barrow's earlier in the year, but I didn't see any on this particular day. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Myrtle subspecies

New for the year here were American Goldfinch (65), and Belted Kingfisher (66). Some grebes got my attention, and I honestly did not mind scoping them from my car as the rain continued. The Westerns were Westerns, and the Horned were Horned. All were still in winter plumage, although the days are approaching when breeding plumage will start sneaking in, making it just a little easier to pick out an Eared Grebe. 

Western Grebe. And rain.

Rock Creek Mill Pond

I did a quick check at the Wind River Mouth, finding a handful of gulls, Gadwall, scaup, goldeneyes, and a Great Blue Heron. The Rock Creek Mill Pond in Stevenson gave me a new bird for the year - Ruddy Duck (67). It was hard for me to believe that these birds were a code 4 - not seen annually - although a quick check on eBird confirmed this. They've been seen every year since 2019 on there, but it takes a more extended presence for the birds to be listed as annual.  And it was raining.

Ruddy Ducks and Buffleheads - Rock Creek Mill Pond

Tunnel number 2. There are 5.

I tried the Stevenson Waterfront, and friends. . . I actually looked carefully through a raft of scaup, looking for a Tufted Duck. Sorting through scaup is not my favorite activity. I know that if you sit and stare at enough of them, you can find the occasional Redhead, the occasional Tufted Duck. But something about this smacks of pull tabs or slot machines to me - with a hint of desperation. But honestly, that's how miserable it was with the rain. I had no reason to get out of the car, and there was no shortage of these ducks floating out on the Columbia. So, I sat and tore away at some pull tabs for a while, telling myself how exciting it would be if I won. 

But eventually, I knew it would have to just come down to work. 

Strawberry Island

I wish I was lying, but this was the trail

What to write about here. I walked three and a half miles or so in steady rain to add. . . a Downy Woodpecker (68), a House Finch (69) a Violet-green Swallow (70), and a Tree Swallow (71) to my year list. It was comically wet. I actually started the walk just running off in the spirit of let's get this done and forgot to put on my mud boots. The trail sent me back. It was a bummer every time I had to lift my binoculars, wipe them down, and fight the fog to look at birds. Right after seeing the Downy, a Golden-crowned Sparrow popped up from near the shore, posing on a low vine. I lifted my binoculars. Golden-crowned Sparrow. Check. I put them down, and the bird flew, immediately replaced by another bird. I lifted my binoculars. Another Golden-crowned Sparrow. Check. This repeated. . . three? four more times? And as the rain pelted me, I actually had a good laugh at this. 

Best bird pic I got from Strawberry Island. :)

I'd come with hopes of bluebirds and phoebes. They were seen aplenty during the week after I left, but I had no luck at all in the rain. Blah! Blech! :D 

I'll tell you though. As I spent many of my days leading up to the trip pushing to meet writing and reviewing deadlines, throwing emails back and forth from the comfort of my couch - THIS was a change of pace! The lack of birds. . . I mean, this is just where it's a good thing that I approach these years with a sense of humor, rather than making it a Very Serious Endeavor. I've occasionally birded with VSE birders, and it's just not fun. 

For that matter, I've also birded with Smart Birders. People who. . . look at weather reports. Plan around weather reports. Consider road conditions. That population. . . hmm. I'm not necessarily a member of the Smart Birder population, but there are times where I think they might be on to something. I may join them someday, but the likelihood is low. This just means that occasionally, y'all are going to have to hear about how I walked three and a half miles or so. . . in steady rain . . .to add a Downy Woodpecker. . . and a couple of swallows that I'll be able to see on any day, nearly anywhere over the next half a year. 

Drying off in Stevenson

I turned back up the highway, East towards Stevenson. There's a smidge over 1500 people there, making it the largest town in Skamania and the county seat, no less. I had passed through it so many times, idly thinking it would be nice to visit some of the shops, but there's never really been the time. The weather made the time for me!

My first stop was Traverse PNW Market. What a neat little shop. I browsed at the speed of need-a-reason-to-stay-inside, picking up a few candles as gifts, a bottle of Poire (pear cider) from Dwinell Country Ales (a place I'd wanted to visit in Goldendale last year), a Bigfoot Country sticker for the laptop, and four macarons to enjoy on Saint Pat's with my daughter. 

I've come to enjoy macarons, especially after a single failed effort to make them. If you haven't made macarons before, I'll just say that it's easy for them to go wrong, and that when they do, they go comically wrong. The ones I picked up were all dressed up for March and were far more enjoyable than the miniature hockey pucks I'd made. 

I chatted with the shopkeeper a little and shared my reason for being in town. "Skamania's a big county. . ." she noted, which is not all wrong, especially relative to the other counties I'm hitting this year (see "Bad Math" on the pages tab at right). But I added that at this time of year, it's a pretty small county! With roads waiting to open, it's basically just the Columbia corridor, plus a couple of higher elevation roads that look down immediately on the Columbia. 

And I was still wet. 

So, I went up a few blocks to the Red Bluff Tap House, right on Highway 14. The mac and cheese did much to restore my soul, as did the flight of taps I got. This option has become so widespread - being able to try small pours of 4-5 taps. For me, the enjoyment far exceeds a pint of anything. Being able to try new things is a good bit of fun. 

I did pull out the laptop, did a quick check of email, checked for bird sightings, and got back to it. 

Beacon Rock State Park

Beacon Rock State Park is a beautiful spot - the name coming from the giant monolith on the Columbia. In better weather, this would be a place to try for Peregrine Falcon and Canyon Wren. For that matter, it would be worth doing the hike up the rock for a view of the Columbia - something I've done a time or two before. On this day, I explored around a little bit, and found that there's more to the park than just the rock. On the west side there's a boat launch, as well as a loop trail. I peeked at the water birds at the launch (nothing new, really, and guess what. . . there were a lot of scaup!), then braved the rain once more. 

Pileated Woodpecker

t was down to a lighter sprinkle, but it was not a dry walk! I was hoping to add some woodpeckers, as i still needed Hairy Woodpecker and Red-breasted Sapsucker for the year list. The only one I found was a Pileated Woodpecker, announcing its presence with heavy THOK THOKs as it slowly pummeled a deep oval into a snag. Near the end of the loop, I found a dozen or so geese, which included at least one Cackling Goose (72) mixed in with the Canadas. 

This was admittedly work for me. The birds weren't calling, and I carry around deep suspicion of any goose I call a Cackling unless I've heard it. But with a little help, I was directed to the slope of the bill - a little more concave on a Cackling Goose, and a little flatter on the alternative - a Lesser Canada Goose. This was another higher coded bird, at a code 3, so I was happy to have come across it!

Little guy up front is the Cackling Goose - the light breast gave me pause. . . they are 
often much darker there

The delicate bill and concave profile for it made me feel better. . .
BUT I'd enjoy finding out I was wrong here. I'm trying to 
get less bad at identifying Cackling Geese. :)

Departure

I did make a quick run through Skamania Landing. I'd found on eBird that Brewer's Blackbirds seem to be regular there. I confirmed this firsthand, making it a nice round 73 species for the Skamania year list. 

On the way out of the county, I did make some runs up some of the roads running up away from the Columbia - Woodard Creek, Duncan Creek. I believe it was up Woodard Creek that I got the best bird of the day, a Varied Thrush. 

Varied Thrush, in what would only be considered perfect lighting for a Varied Thrush

I saw him fly down onto a branch along the deeply forested road and gave him a proper hello. Short but pleasant conversation: 

"Varied Thrush!! I'm your biggest fan. How are you?"

"Tshcupp"

"Good. Good. And how are things at the office? How's the family?"

"Tschupp. Tschupp."

"Oh, good to hear. Could I get a picture?? I know y'all usually skulk around out of sight, but. . . could I?"

"Tschupp."

Click. "Thank you!"

"Tschupp," and off he flew to do Varied Thrush things. 

I stopped for a picture from the Cape Horn Viewpoint as well. 

And then it was homeward bound. Just for funsies, I did a meander through Eastern Clark County, starting up Washougal River Road, finding an American Dipper on this rock ten seconds before I took the picture. 

Washougal River - where I found an American Dipper (#92 for Clark)

And it continued to rain, but I kept my eyes open any time I caught a glance of the river, with Common Merganswer (I know it's a typo. . . but I'm leaving the w in once, for every 3 billion times that I delete it, and I just hit three billion there. The fingers just want to type answer.) and Mourning Dove on my mind. 

And of course, as soon as I slipped out of Clark, out of Cowlitz, the sun came out, giving me a lovely Lewis County sunset from I-5. 

Day 9 in the books!

March 12th - Clearly Not Merry Weather (Clark)

Poor Clark County

Clark County is a fine place to go birdwatching. I am sure of this. People have seen a lot of birds there. 90 percent of the land in Clark County is actually National Wildlife Refuge land. Okay, the last statement may be a stretch. I'm just trying to be nice! Find the positive. All the good stuff. 

I've said a couple times now: In the spirit of my master plan for the year, in which I'll try to scrape out 150 species of birds in Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, and Skamania Counties, it's important that I divide my efforts appropriately. 

And that means that Clark County will have to get neglected a little. 

150 species for the year is not difficult when you have these magnificent birding sites, and the combined populations of Portland and Vancouver right on the doorstep. Lots of birds to be found, and lots of people to find them. So, the plan (or the narrative, or at worse, the schtick) is to neglect Clark, and bird there as *little* as possible on the way to getting to 150. As part of the schtick, I decided it would be easier for me if I pretended I didn't enjoy birding in Clark County.

But. . . Clark County, c'mon! My single days so far: 

• January was biting cold and windy at Steigerwald; 
• February I was "birding for people who like feeling like they're in slow traffic!" at Ridgefield;
• This particular day in March was everything from drizzly to downright soggy!

Add to that. . . a lot of the scenery has been pretty similar! I have nearly always felt like I was in Clark County: Grassy stuff with a river/pond/STP and a few scattered deciduous trees draped in that light green lichen that seems to be everywhere. 

I'm going to get excited for Clark County. I really am! And it will be all the more fun when it comes, given the first few months. 

Salmon Creek

As noted, there are a lot of people in this area, so the one beautiful thing is that it's never too hard to find some people to head out birding. On this particular day, Randy and Karen were my copilots/tourguides/pishers-in-crime. We met at the Salmon Creek Park and Ride just as the birds were waking up. Karen was there when I arrived, and Randy joined us soon after. From the parking lot, we already picking up some common birds - American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, and Spotted Towhee, as well as Anna's Hummingbird, my 65th species for Clark this year (a total I'll drop in parentheses from here on out). 

We hopped into Randy's car, because the hybrid would get better mileage than either of ours, ". . . and more importantly, I can use it as an excuse to have someone else take care of the eBird checklists!" Randy added with a grin. Well played. I had to shirk this duty, as Flippy is not even wifi-enabled. What was I contributing to this day? With two skilled local birders driving me around and taking care of the checklists for me? I was thanked "for creating a reason to head out birding today." I'll take it. 

My eyes were pretty wide with my list of target birds - over 60 of them. Randy had wanted the list to help map out the day and had a good list of stops/targets ready to go. Our first stop was at the Salmon Creek Greenway. What a great stop! This trail runs along Salmon Creek, starting at a bridge where 36th Ave runs over the creek. This is just a little North of Vancouver Lake, for those not familiar with the area (which. . . until 5 minutes ago, when I pulled up a map, included me.)

There was a good mix of little birds, including Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees (66), Bewick's Wrens, and Bushtits (67). Randy's ears miss some of the birds with higher-pitched songs, but his wealth of birding knowledge more than makes up for that. Karen and I were happy to point out the occasional birds that we heard calling, and he was happy to sort out which swans were Tundra and Trumpeter as he viewed them from his scope on the bridge!

Then. . . Oh. My. Gosh. There was a GREAT EGRET down in the creek. My birding roots are in King County, so I'm still allowing myself to get excited every time I see one. I tried to get Karen and Randy just as excited every time. 99 percent sure they were. I could tell from the simple nod from Karen and the "yep." from Randy that they were pretty much in awe of this bird, and the other dozens of them that we saw during the day. 

photo Courtesy of Karen Pickering

Wood Ducks (68) were tucked away in a pond below, and as we worked to get better looks, a large bird floated up from below the bridge into a tree, melting into it. "Red-tailed Hawk?" was the theme of the discussion between us until we finally got our binoculars on the bird - a Barn Owl (69)! This was not a bird we expected here at all. Karen and I scrambled for cameras, but it turned, gave us a good look, and moved for deeper cover. 

Cackling Geese streamed overhead from West to East in the hundreds, and we eventually took the trail down below. Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Mallards, and Northern Shoveler were among the other birds we saw as we walked. Karen heard a House Finch - a bird which had somehow eluded me so far during the year. I missed it here as well! But since I did hear one later in the day, we'll call that 70 species while I'm remembering it. 

It rained. It rained more. It was a lot of raindrops and fog on the optics, and we decided that moving along and getting some coffee would be a fine idea. 

Burnt Bridge Creek

The invisible Felida Coffee Company

We went south on 36th. Again, Google Maps is my friend here, and it's been fun to actually see where we went. This brought us past the Felida Shopping Center, which had a cafe sign out front. I honestly could not tell you if there was one there or not, but we looked for it like only birders could do. We circled a few times, checking to make sure that it wasn't secretly housed within Mount Tabor Brewing or the Barre studio in the same complex. We even tried the upper level in a few spots. I think the only birding effort we did not employ was "Let's give it ten more minutes," followed by sitting and scanning the area in binoculars, waiting for it to arrive. 

"That's weird. . . I'll send an email to the property manager," Karen said as we decided to head down the road. "There's a joke in that sentence. . . " I thought to myself at the time.,

Between now and then, I've started to wonder if I need to perpetuate a joke that is, at its core, a bit sexist, ageist, and classist. Sorry to pull you away from the birding for a second, dear reader, but this is not a bad question. . .

We ended up at Creed Coffee, and goodness it was nice to sit for a couple minutes inside where the water could start to evaporate away. I'd only had two cups of coffee at the hotel the night before. It wasn't the number of cups that left me slightly undercaffeinated, but the size of the cups. At home, I use a mug that must hold 20 ounces. The hotel cups would look like a thimble alongside that mug! We sat and talked about the plans for the route. 

It's such a joy to talk with other birders. Everyone approaches the sport hobby with a slightly different approach, but there are just endless connections to make with people through the birds, the places, and the people we've experienced. Dry enough, we hopped back in the car, and went to Burnt Bridge Creek. 

There's an 8-mile trail that runs along Bridge Creek. We were at the end nearest Vancouver Lake. When we got out of the car, we were greeted by the "Tweeyoo"s of Lesser Goldfinches (71). As we picked through waterfowl below, we found the bird(s?) that we had hoped to find: A Eurasian Wigeon (72) or two. The male was easy to pick out, and it was with a female that happened to be the only other wigeon on the pond. So, we may have had two of them, but female wigeon are devilishly hard to tell apart!

As we discussed wigeon a flock of about 20 shorebirds came flying in to the mud and grasses at the middle of the little pond. They promptly dissolved. We all had a good laugh about this as we scanned, and scanned, and finally found a couple Wilson's Snipes (73) poking around in the mud. These birds camofla... camouflu...c... These birds blend in so well with their surroundings. I'm just used to seeing it in the other direction: Where I arrive at a muddy spot, with no birds in sight - and one-by-one Wilson's Snipes pop up out of nowhere. 

Fruit Valley 

We continued South on Fruit Valley Road, with Vancouver Lake now north and west of us. This brought us to Fruit Valley Park. This was nearly the only patch of conifers that we would have during the day. It's still in a pretty urban area, so most of the birds were typical urban birds (crows, starlings), but it also brought us Varied Thrushes (74), and a Merlin (75). It was fun to watch the Merlin, perched atop a conifer, and eventually flying off to the East and out of sight. It's not a super-easy bird in Clark County, but it made sense to find it here, with a slightly suburban setting and some conifers. 

Ring-necked and Ruddy Ducks

The Fruit Valley STP is just around the corner from this park. I was amazed at how packed this was with ducks. To be fair, I'd found a good number of puddle ducks up to this point, so my birds added at this point were actually a couple of passerines - the House Finch mentioned before, and a singing White-crowned Sparrow (76). 

Shillapoo

A little confusing here - we first went to Shillapoo Wildlife Area, and then later to Shillapoo Lake, both on opposite ends of Vancouver Lake. It seems like every county has these weird little naming conventions to throw me off, like these places in Douglas County, or this continuous stretch of parks in Wenatchee that I just called Wenflorawalluence Natural Park Area and variations on that theme. At any rate, we were doing the Southeasty Shillapoo. This took us right up to Vancouver Lake, where we were able to see some big white blobs on the far side - American White Pelicans (77). 

Sweet Jesus Mary and Joseph (pardon the Catholic swearing) I saw a video recently on "Pelicans eating things" and am in complete horror now. If it'll fit in the pouch, they'll try to swallow it. Don't let your cat fall asleep too close to the water, friends. Randy also found a Common Goldeneye in the distance to make it 78 species. Surprise, there were also dozens of Lesser Scaup, and. . . brace yourself. . . a Great Egret!!!! There was also a Bald Eagle there. I know some people get excited about those, but they're really pretty common birds, so. . .

Northern Shrike

On the way out, we stopped and viewed a Northern Shrike (79). It appeared to be eating a bird as we watched it perched across the field, and then as it returned for a photo shoot. It's always a nice opportunity to talk about field marks. I still think of a Northern Shrikes as having their mascara and eye liner perfectly applied, while Loggerhead Shrikes look like they put it on and had a good cry, giving them a wider, sloppier eye stripe. There are plenty of other marks to follow, but this one worked well on this particular day. 

On the way from Shillapoo to Shillapoo, we stopped on the East shore of Vancouver Lake, where a crew race was going on. Tents and cars filled the lot, and kids were running back and forth excitedly as their teams raced out on the lake. We had mostly common birds here, with a suspected Red-breasted Sapsucker disappearing on us, and a Spotted Towhee making some crazy sounds to distract us for a short while. As we continued on our way, we also passed a few handsful of Eurasian Collared-Doves (80).

The Other Shillapoo, which is a lake

This really was a neat spot. An American Tree Sparrow had been seen here through most of the winter, although most of the sparrows seemed to have packed it in for the day. We were greeted by a Northern Harrier, and. . . this may beggar belief, but. . . there were also three Great Egrets. :) I found my first swallows of the year, Tree (81), and Violet-green (82) - the first wisps of what will surely be clouds of swallows here in the months to come. 

Northern Harrier at Shillapoo Lake - a place that looks 
remarkably like Everywhere, Clark County :)
(to me. . . so far. . . )

Misses here did include some marsh birds - Virginia Rail, Sora, and American Bittern - all hoped-for and some called- and clapped-for. We did pick out a single Canvasback (83) out of the rafts of Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks. 

Crows vs. Harrier

Some of the Killdeer were especially vocal, circling high over the fields and crying out in alarm. I think this is just the natural state of Killdeer - alarm. If you had a habit of building nests in well-traveled gravel parking lots, it's a natural state that would suit you well. Still, in my head, I pictured a productive therapy session with a Killdeer on the couch, and - in all likelihood - a Varied Thrush calmly taking notes and asking questions. Are there two birds that better symbolize panic and placidity?

Short-eared Owl! (84) At least one of these birds was fluttering around over the wetlands while we were there. Honestly, maybe this is why the Killdeer was freaked out? Not a bad day when you get to see two different owl species in broad daylight. 

Photo courtesy of Karen Pickering

We had the Short-eared Owl on the ground. Waaaaay too far away for anything but an optimistic picture. I asked Karen if I could use some of her pictures in the blog, and got all of the standard photographer apologies ("They're not great. . ."). But dear reader, please:

Karen's bad owl picture

My bad owl picture

Ya would've been looking at that bottom picture as a picture of a distant Short-eared Owl. I *love* it when photographers brag that they have some bad bird pictures. I can win that game every day of the week. ;)  

Wrap-up

We were sitting somewhere around 1:00 at this point. My tummy grumbled and my mouth followed suit. It had been a full day of Dad Taxi with my son and daughter on the previous day, and I really hadn't planned out food and whatnot all that well. Nor did I know for sure where I'd be staying that night!

We were so close to the end of the route that Randy had planned out for me, though. He cajoled me into hanging on for the last stretch of Lower River Road, where we were greeted by thousands of Snow Geese (85), and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes.

Oh yeah! And some Dusky Canada Geese - a subspecies specifically protected in this area

On the way back to our starting point, I picked up a few birds as well: Brewer's Blackbirds (86) picking at some feed set out for them at Vancouver Lake, a Belted Kingfisher (87), and a Ring-necked Pheasant (88). The latter. . . I'll put it on the list. I know on eBird, it doesn't go into the species totals, but then on the checklists put out on Washington Birder, it's still got a normal notation on the checklist as a code 2 bird. I'll just make sure that whatever totals I hit for the year allow for this asterisk. ;)

I said my goodbyes at the park and ride. This was truly a joy. Sometime near the end of my Klickitat year in 2022 (www.klickitatcountybirding.blogspot.com), I had groused a little about how I'd gone all the way into December before I actually had a chance to bird *with* someone in the field. I've tried to more actively seek out these shared birding days and am glad so far that I chose to do so. 

Into Vancouver

I was on the West side of Vancouver and needed food. Pacific House on Main Street was there to rescue me with a BLT (the Varied Thrush of sandwiches) and a pint. I got plugged in and checked in with various clients. Most of them knew I'd be out on the road for a couple days, but it was still good to at least peek at email. I also got to work on a plan for the next day - one that would involve a night at the Society House in Bingen, I decided - and what birds I might target on the way there. 

Barrow's Goldeneye

The Vancouver waterfront, along Columbia Avenue, is a low-traffic situation, all-in-all. I was happy to use this road to East-to-West myself, checking the Columbia along the way. This did give me a couple more birds - an Iceland Gull (89) on the water from Marine Park and Barrow's Goldeneye (90) and Greater Scaup (91) from Mintler Park. I was surprised to come out of these first three months without a Horned Grebe! This would have been as good a place as any to find one, but. . . birds is birds!

To Bingen

It may seem odd to drive the entire length of a county to get to a hotel, but for 40 dollars or so a night, it made sense. I was also unsure about the weather situation facing me the next day, so I figured I'd try to pick up a couple birds on the way. This paid off, with Wood Ducks and Killdeer at Skamania Landing - birds 61 and 62 for the Skamania year list. I rolled in at the Society House, got my bunk, got showered up, and just sat down and read a dang book for a bit before going to bed. It felt so nice to get warmed up after a drizzly day, and certainly. . . certainly Skamania County would treat me better the next day. . . right? heh.

Day 8 in the books! Although they'll get harder, it's worth noting that I'm over half-way 
to my goal of 150 birds in each county with a total of 309 county ticks.