April 23rd - The Great Escape, Day 5

 

Morning at Alcyon Farm

I again let myself get a little sleep, resting up for the day ahead following an. . . interesting attempt to find owls in the middle of the night! Andrew was already up, feeding the sheep, and handling other chores around the place. I got up and got dressed and got out birding the property. Grouse, both Sooty and Ruffed, were the targets for the morning. 

Licorice Ferns (and maybe sword as well?)
growing on a Bigleaf Maple

I crossed the broad field, enjoying Hairy Woodpecker rattles and Varied Thrush fluting along the way. At the bridge over Skamokawa Creek, I found the dippers once again doing their thing. Then I waited just on the far side of the bridge, where Andrew had said the Ruffed Grouse was often drumming. I stopped and listened and ended up finding another year bird for Wahkiakum - a Hermit Thrush (99 for the year) first calling with its harsh nasal call, then actually pushing out little bits of song. 

As I listened to the thrush, I felt, then heard, the drumming start. Ruffed Grouse! (100). Andrew caught up with me, bringing the dogs out on their morning walk. We continued around the property, talking about trees, summer birds, bats, logging roads, and tides.

We also, at some point, got talking about the joy of birding under one's own power. Whether that's walking, kayaking, biking or what have you. It's just a bit more fun than being in a car. We were definitely signed up for some own-power birding on this particular day! 

Grays Bay

We had plans to hit the mudflats of Grays Bay, scoping things first from Altoona, and then tromping out across the mudflats right around low tide. There were a few different shorebirds that we had especially in mind: Black-bellied Plovers and their less common vagrant cousins; Whimbrel, Short-billed Dowitcher, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and peeps of any kind (Western being the most likely one that would add to my year list.)

Breakfasted up, we drove both cars to Skamokawa. I hopped into Andrew's car. As we pulled away, I realized that I hadn't locked my car. Despite an offer to head back, I decided to leave it that way - a declaration of trust in the county. According to Andrew, the crime in Wahkiakum County was limited to about 12 people, and breaking into cars in broad daylight was not really part of their modus operandi.

Our first stop was at KM Mountain - a high point along Highway 4, where Western Bluebirds had been seen the day before. We got pretty excited about an American Robin at one point (don't we always, birding friends?), but it was decidedly not a bluebird. I had the same experience with a Pacific Wren that was not a House Wren, and we continued on our merry way.

We made our next stop along Lower Grays River, where we watched puddle ducks and some gulls of questionable ancestry for a little bit. Some looked like Western Gulls to me from the right angles. . . but suddenly did not from . .  well, clearly from the wrong angles. :D  

We continued up the road to Altoona, where we scoped the water and listened to the calls in the trees behind us. One of those first calls was a Wilson's Warbler (101), checkcheckchecking loudly from the trees. White-crowned Sparrows also sang from nearly everywhere, and we got discussing the subspecies songs. I nearly only hear Pugetensis up in my neck of the woods, so the one we kept hearing, given its accent, seemed like a good Gambelii. But this led to a discussion that would have made for lovely video - both of us talking through the songs, doing our best imitations of the two songs. Shame I didn't put the phone on record!

Red-breasted Merganser

Out in the water, we got some good luck immediately, with a Red-breasted Merganser (102), which turned into three of them as we continued to scan. With more scanning, we got many Greater Scaup (surprise?), some Western Grebes, Red-throated and Common Loons, and American White Pelicans (103). From behind us, a Cassin's Vireo (104) made some calls. My brain heard them, and started to ask, "hey isn't that a . . . " and kind of drifted away as Andrew and I talked about other birds, but the bird gave a few more calls, getting both of our attention. It was a nice clean call. We discussed those *other* "vireo" calls - the ones that come from finches. There were definitely Purple Finches around that morning, and we had a chance to hear them do the vireo-like calls that they do. Definitely similar in phrasing at times, but definitely bad for a vireo. 

Pelagic Cormorant (105) was not a bird I'd thought of as a target, but it showed up for us nonetheless. Additionally, we had a Hermit Thrush and a Spotted Sandpiper (106) along the beach. 

Astoria Bridge in the distance

We went back to the mouth of Crooked Creek and booted up. It was a squishy walk, and 2 and a half miles all told, out and back. But what great conditions! Quite early on, we got Black-bellied Plovers (107), which sadly took flight before we could scope them and try to find the odd plovers. A pair of gulls appeared dark enough to list them as Western. "At least 95%", which is all you can ever assume these days. (108).

Whimbrels! (109) We got a handful of them and had fun watching them slowly poke along the mudflats. It took a good bit of walking before we got to them, nearly at Crooked Creek itself. The tide was running away from us, and Andrew pointed out some of the different points of interest to help me get my bearings. He explained the tides. . . which is one of those ideas that I perennially struggle with. I think I came away with information that should help me better understand where to find shorebirds in the future. We'll see in the fall. My nickel says that much of this will Teflon right out of my brain, and I'll be back at this creek puzzled in the future. We shall see. 

Hey! Where'd our footprints go? :)

Pileated Woodpecker (110) was another added bird at this point, calling from the forested hillsides. 

Andrew suggested waiting an hour for the tide to slowly come in, pushing some of the shorebirds closer to us, but I was content with the visit we'd had. He ate his lunch while I scanned through the Greater Yellowlegs that seemed to be littered all over the flats.

We walked back closer to the high tide mark. Although the reason for this was ostensibly the possibility of Wilson's Snipe. . . I did not mind being close to the eventual shoreline. Psychologically, the story Andrew had related of people walking too far out on mudflats, and dying as the tide came in. . . it played with my brain a little bit. I watched the water suspiciously as we schlooped and schplucked our way back to the car. 

The Candle Farm, where they totally grow candles

Kandoll Road was a nice stop! It's land that's managed by the Columbia Land Trust, as described here. We dipped in and tried for Sora, getting only Virginia Rail. There were plenty of sparrows around, as well as some Purple Finches. We'd discussed the night before that these guys aren't purple like the crayon, but purple like wine-colored. This helped me a little bit, and with some squinting, I could buy in with this assertion. This will likely be a stop that I make later in the year, and earlier in the day to try for the Sora. 

Adios!

At this point, I was getting a little anxious about my caffeine levels. I'd not grabbed a morning cup of coffee - a fact I didn't consider until we were already well past any coffee stands or shops. We returned to the kayak shop in Skamokawa and said our adieus. Purple Martins called from overhead as I transferred things back to my car. In the end, it was a great half-day or so with a knowledgeable county birder. I'm super thankful to have had the opportunity to bird that area with Andrew and hope it's not the last I see of him this year. 

Julia Butler Hansen again

I first gave Brooks Slough, on the west side of the refuge, a try. This landed me my first Wood Duck of the year in Wahkiakum (111), and my first Savannah Sparrow (112). Returning to highway 4, I swung around to the East entrance of the refuge, picking up Brown Creeper (113) in the trees at the entrance, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow (114) at the refuge headquarters ponds. I drove to the trailhead for the White-tail Trail, and found shorebirds on the pond: numerous Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and a dowitcher. 

I have Long-billed Dowitcher for the year already, and this one, given the distance and optics was a puzzle to me. If anyone has definitive thoughts based on these pictures, fire away! Sadly the bird never called, which actually would have made this quite easy!

Puget Island

I hoped to find some Greater White-fronted Geese but struck out. It wasn't until I got home and popped the bird lists into eBird that I realized I'd added yet one more bird to the yearlist while driving the island - Bushtit! (115). 

Having arrived in the county with 73 birds for the year list. . . this was a ridiculously good trip. I liked that it put Wahkiakum in the "lead" over Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania, if only temporarily! I grabbed a bite at Tim's Tavern in Kelso on my way home and got back before dark. 

16 Days in the books!

April 22nd - The Great Escape, Day 4

I woke up Saturday morning, nice and late again. Being on the road, getting a lot of work in, but also getting a lot of birding and hiking in. . . I needed some sleep! I was in Kelso, with an 11 AM checkout time, and the hotel wifi was pretty cooperative. I got some work done, and also poked around looking at what kind of quick birding I could do in Cowlitz, on the way to my eventual evening destination in Wahkiakum County. 

Rough-legged Hawks

These birds. . . goodness. I thought I saw one on the Christmas Bird Count. All but zero days into the year! But I got my camera up, relocated the bird, and got a nice shot of a Red-shouldered Hawk. Trips have been made to Woodland Bottoms, and I have picked Russ Koppendrayer's brain on whereabouts to find them down there. Nada. 

But three of them. . .  three of them!!. . . had been seen on Willow Grove Road. I looked this over, and also wanted to do a little loop to see more of Longview. So once my work was done, I went up to the North end of town. 

Oh yeah, and Gadwall! I've always loved the way that splash of orange shows up on the males.

"Ditch Number 6" is a funny enough name for a piece of water, but it had some nice birds recommending it, including Peregrine Falcon, some nice marsh birds, shorebirds, and ducks. I found it, and realized I was passing the first parking entrance for it as I drove by. I considered turning back around, but the drive gave me a good look at the fabled ditch, so I thought I'd gauge the birdability from the car as I drove. Not finding any mudflats, and not getting buzzed by any Peregrine Falcons, I eventually pulled into another trailhead (it's quite a long trail, and one I may hike at some point), and walked it a little bit. 

Golden-crowned Sparrow munching on blooms 

Hooded Merganser, Ring-necked Duck, and Mallards were in the actual ditch. From further up the trail, I came across a home that must have had a feeder. Three zono sparrows (White-crowned, Golden-crowned, and White-throated) sang from the blackberries below the home and above the ditch. I was able to spot all but the latter. 

New year birds, included Barn Swallows (101 for the year in Cowlitz), which playfully used the culvert that let the water run under the road at the trailhead. Rufous Hummingbirds (102) were common, as were Common Yellowthroats (103), naturally. Purple Finch (104) was the final addition as I got back to my car. 

I followed the road around to the Longview Sewage Lagoons, which were pretty empty, save a few Buffleheads. In migration, it would have felt silly not to stop, but wow they were quiet! I continued across The Four to get down to Willow Grove. 

American Kestrel - Willow Grove Road

How fun to be back here for the first time since the Christmas Bird Count. How nice it may have been if the Rough-legged Hawks had been here to welcome me! But it was not to be. Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, and Bald Eagle were the big birds seen along the way. I tried to turn some of them into Rough-legged Hawks without success, and the effort may have upset the Turkey Vultures especially. 

I did add a few birds: Orange-crowned Warbler (105) at a few stops; Spotted Sandpiper (106) at the beach; and a nice surprise, a big dumpy Band-tailed Pigeon (107) weighing down an evergreen branch in a tree near the Western end of the drive, before it turned back towards the start of the loop. It was a beautiful morning, and a lovely drive with no shortage of vantage points for scanning the fields, looking for birds in flight. . . on fences. . . in trees. . . so maybe I have a nemesis bird for the year in Cowlitz! You've won again, Roughies, but. . . winter is coming. . . ;)  

It's a fun thought, actually. The calendar gives us two winters of birding, and one summer. It could easily have been different! What if we got two summers? Or two springs or falls? What an interesting mix of birds we might get. But I'm fine with winter landing where it does in the calendar. Starting off slowly and ending slowly gives a little more time for planning, and a little more time for reflection. Nice ways to start and end the years.

Wocky Ockum

Pete Fahey was a fine friend and a fine birder. But, boy did he fail when it came to pronouncing some of our Washington locales, including poor Wahkiakum. This one always made me laugh. That said, it has been a year of failures and learnings for me in the pronunciation department. Say 'em out loud, and then scroll down to check yourself:

1. Longview (we'll start easy. Give you a nice false sense of security)
2. Wahkiakum (hint. . . it ain't Wocky Ockum)
3. Kalama
4. Cathlamet (surprise, it's a different place than number 3. I had someone tell me just yesterday that the h was silent. . .)
5. Willapa
6. Rosburg

No cheating. . . lock in your answers before you scroll!

1. LONG vyoo (nice job!!)
2. wuh KYE uh kum
3. kuh LAM uh (like calamity, minus the tea)
4. cath LAM it (apparently some people try to make this French. It is not.)
5. WILL uh puh (or, if you're feeling bucolically fancy: WILL uh pah)
6. ROSS berg (okay. . . I was calling it ROSE berg. . . which even this site seems to think is okay, but yeah, there's no E. Also, why not ROZ berg?)

In any event, I slid into Wahkiakum County, munching on some cheese and crackers that would be lunch and looking for a good pullout for scanning the Columbia. My first add for the Wahkiakum year list was a Turkey Vulture - 74 for the year. Spoilers. . . as I look at 74 now, a few days after the trip, I'm just wondering. . . what the heck happened during those two days?? Lots of birds coming through, and I hadn't been here since January. So buckle up, Buttercup!

From one of these early pulloffs, I also added Osprey (75), and Common Loon (76) looking sharp in breeding plumage. In Cathlamet, I parked and walked the trail near the Wastewater Treatment Plant at the waterfront. This was a nice stop for gulls, with Ring-billed (77), and California (78) joining the year list. I had other pink-footed gulls that I thought might just be the typical Glaucous-winged x Western Hybrids.

More Common Loons were seen out on the water, along with some Double-crested Cormorants. Violet-green Swallows (79) were plentiful, and I even picked up a few calls from Purple Martins (80), which I sadly could not track down to get a visual. Their beautiful throaty calls are pretty distinctive, however, so I was fine adding them to the list. House Finch (81) was the final addition in town. 

Julia Butler Hansen - Elochoman Slough

It was still early in the afternoon when I pulled up to JBH and started exploring. Birds were still busy enough, giving me 50ish species during what felt like a brief stop. Rufous Hummingbird (82), and Barn Swallows (83) were the easiest additions, and I additionally picked out Tree Swallows (84) a Cliff Swallow (85) at the pond near the headquarters building. Cinnamon Teal was hoped for and missed. 

Common Yellowthroat (86) and Townsend's Warblers were heard singing early during the trip, and eventually Orange-crowned Warbler (87) as well. I'd been basically shut out on finches in January, but Purple Finches (88) were singing everywhere (gosh I love their song), and I got a flyover of an American Goldfinch (89). 

Orange-crowned Warbler
hiding in the branches

The first nice surprise was a Hutton's Vireo (90). I suppose they're not a surprising bird, really, but there's a window during which they're singing, and I rarely see them or hear them outside of that February-April window. It called from across the slough repeatedly. Down in the mud of Elochoman Slough, a Greater Yellowlegs poked around. Any shorebirds in Wahkiakum are good birds! And finally Sandhill Cranes (91) were heard in flight. 

The next surprise - a Hammond's Flycatcher (92)! It gave occasional calls from some trees as I was watching the yellowlegs, a fun first flycatcher of the year for me (Black Phoebes apparently don't count as flycatchers, Tim?).

At the head of the White-tail Trail, I got Caspian Terns (93), screeching out on the Columbia. Plenty of Cackling Geese to pick through, but none of the hoped-for Greater White-fronted Geese were found with them. Most importantly, there were two GREAT EGRETS, which I will continue to believe are a mega-rarity, given how infrequently we see them up in Pugetopolis. Don't worry folks, another couple hundred Great Egrets this year, and I may even calm down about them. 

The Spar

Incidentally, the pint is a hazy IPA from 
River Mile 38 brewery from 
across town

I sat down at The Spar, back in Cathlamet, getting connected to some wifi, and taking in an early dinner of Clam Chowder (the largest bowl of chowder I think I've attempted to eat). Had I known how big the bowl of chowder would be, I may not have done a side of smashed potatoes and gravy, and it would have been a sad miss. 

It's always fun to sit in a small town spot and listen to conversations as people filter through. It was the birthday of one of the women behind the bar, and she got well-wishes from nearly everyone who came through. Fun little spot with good food, friendly service, and they were even setting up for karaoke night as I left. 

I swung by River Mile 38 Brewery on the way out, grabbing some smoked salmon as a Thanks for the Bed gift for Andrew Emlen, my host for the evening. Even in the process of trying to leave town, I added one more bird, Eurasian Collared Dove (94) - a pair visiting a feeder in town. This was nice because I'd driven all of Puget Island, it seemed, in January - missing these birds. 

Alcyon Farm

Skamokawa Valley

Andrew's place is tucked away in the Skamokawa Valley. I missed the turn at East Valley Road but found my way through Ingalls Road, which took me over Fern Hill. Again, just from being out in the world in April, I picked up another bird - Brown-headed Cowbird (95). It feels like bird number 74 for the year was a blink ago!

I rolled into the farm and was greeted by Andrew. We had plans to go kayaking the next day, which good judgment turned into plans to go tromping around in mudflats at Grays Bay. For the afternoon/evening, once I'd gotten my things unloaded, he took me on a walk through his property. 

Early on, I got a new year bird: A Red-breasted Sapsucker (96) working on its favorite tree, a Mountain Ash. As Andrew explained, there were dozens and dozens of trees that one could imagine a sapsucker visiting and lining with holes, but this guy was pretty focused on this single tree. 

As we walked, Andrew would occasionally bend down and toss something from the trail into the grass. I asked eventually and learned that snails were the explanation. Pacific Sideband Snail and Oregon Forestsnail - a snail that used to go by the name "Townsend's Snail". 

Oregon Forestsnail

Andrew has deep roots in the history of the area including natural history, so I got the lowdown on John Kirk Townsend as we walked. It's a name I know. Townsend's Warbler, Townsend's Chipmunk, Townsend's Solitaire. Gosh, I think the guy even has bats carrying his name. But. . . biologists at the time were into some horrible practices. One of the ones that Townsend was into was phrenology. Phrenology was a study of skulls of different races of humans. At their worst, phrenologists thought it could prove definitively that different races were different species. . . and naturally that the white race was more evolved. 

"So he wanted to collect skulls for his friend. . . " Andrew started, and I immediately went a little wide-eyed, assuming that this story was going to end in murder. As it turns out, no. But grave desecration. . . yaknow, it's not all that much better, is it? Townsend took the remains of a Native American woman out of a grave. The brother of the woman demanded that they be returned, and they were. . . but the brother's wailing over the desecration of his sister's remains. . . one would think this would clarify the situation for most folks.  

Townsend, undeterred, continued his grave-robbing practices, collecting several more Native American skulls, noting at one point that the death of natives from disease might be convenient for the purposes of his work. 

. . . 

and it will be interesting to see how scientific communities address things like this. We can look at it and say, "He was just a man of his time," but that is a phrase that has been used to cover up a lot of dirty things over the years. It's hard, because. . . I really do tend to believe in the best versions of people. I think that all people have flaws, mistakes, blemishes, but all people have. . . not just a good, but a beautiful side to them. With some, the garbage of life obscures that. I'd say here is a pretty good example of it. 

So, what do we do? I comically thought that one solution would be to just add. . . and pardon my French here, dear reader. I just realized that coarse language never makes it into these blogs, but. . . "That Asshole Townsend's Warbler", and the extra part of the name could be like. . . a good conversation starter? I don't know. Removing the name seems like a good start, but for the purposes of the day, this snail created a good window for reflecting on the darker side of our history. 

Whew! Sorry there. I should occasionally put up signs: "Primitive Blog; No Warning Signs", something akin to the no-warning-sign warning signs you see for primitive roads. TLDR: native snails are good. Andrew occasionally gives 'em a hand.

Salmon Fry - a little hard to spot! "That's why I'm still alive. . ."

From the bridge over Skamokawa Creek at the end of his big field, we listened to and eventually saw an American Dipper (97). They nest in a box he affixed under the bridge, and the chittering of young can occasionally be heard from those boxes. 

We missed on both grouse that had been seen and heard at his place during the recent week (Ruffed and Sooty), but Andrew figured the morning may be better for them. Returning to the house, we got Band-tailed Pigeons (98). 

Back in the house, Andrew worked on his dinner while his dogs moved in for ear scratches. We talked about plans for the following day and continued to talk about the property. I asked about mammals he'd seen on the property, and he dug up a notebook that had years of notes about birds, mammals, moths, butterflies, salamanders. . . and vegetable gardens. I had a laugh, because that's the kind of thing that would have made its way into one of my old notebooks too. 

Back in the days before eBird, there were other databases (some of you readers are still using them. . . goodness. . . ), and of course the good old-fashioned notebook. How fun to look through old ones where I kept track of birds that had been seen and heard in the yard over the years. 

And we got in a game of Scrabble. No timer (although that would be fun someday), and a semi-loose use of the dictionary. We would pull it out to double check words that we were pretty sure about. We would not open it up to try to find words from our rack. This modified set of rules has always felt about right. I regret to say that I am down 0-1 in this Scrabble series, but we definitely agreed that it would continue.

Both exhausted, we went to bed. 

I got up at three. Slipped out onto the front porch. Listened. Whistled for Northern Pygmy Owl. Got buzzed by a bat and immediately made my way back in. Fun fact - they've got a bat house on the property. Good to know. 

April 21st - The Great Escape, Day 3

Where else would I wake up? 

Bingen, Klickitat County. An inexpensive place to lay my head comfortably. I actually slept in a little bit, which is not a common occurrence on my birding trips! I got a breakfast sandwich and coffee at the hostel's cafe and got going on more writing. Digging through some reviews of assessment items for some engineering curriculum, answering a few emails, and actual factual writing for a chapter on coral reefs, the morning hours went by pretty quickly!

I'd cleared quite a few birds off of my Skamania list at this point during the previous day, and I knew this would be a more work-focused day. Once I did get out the door, my primary goals were to make one stop in Skamania County, and one stop in Clark, before sitting down at a hotel in Cowlitz. 

Skamania

There were little stops along the way. I stopped and listened for the Canyon Wren at Spring Creek Fish Hatchery. . . I stopped and scanned for grebes at Stevenson. . . I stopped and looked for a Peregrine Falcon at Beacon Rock State Park. But my real destination was the home of Wilson Cady on the west end of the county. 

Wilson has been living on this property since I was born. That took a little while to digest. He's had a few years to watch the birds in Skamania County and has a yard list that is well above most people's life lists in the county! Part of this, he ascribes to the way the Columbia dips southward at this particular part of the county. Birds flying northward along the Cascades get to the Columbia, keep heading North over. . . well, over Wilson's place, and can kinda see Steigerwald from there, and Ridgefield. So they can just float downhill to the good spots after buzzing the tower, so to speak. 

For me, and my list there were three birds I was hoping for: Mourning Dove (93rd bird in the county - seen on the way in to his place), Band-tailed Pigeon, and Eurasian Collared-Dove. I came across Wilson in the driveway, burning some brush, and . . . gosh I don't have to explain this to anyone who's spent ten minutes with him, or an hour or two as I did. . . you could write a dang book if you just had the tape recorder out and paid enough attention. Trees, shrubs, birds, mammals, wind and precipitation, migration trackers, the easy spots for Harlequin Ducks, vague information about top-secret birds, the odd habits of the Marsh Wrens at Red Bluff Road Ponds and the reason there's no road to Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center, Skamania County. 

Some Band-tailed Pigeons (94) did drift in, and clap-clapped away over the course of our talk. We watched Rufous Hummingbirds, Steller's Jays, both Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, House, and Purple Finches come in to his feeder as we talked. At one point, he walked me back to the trailhead that goes back through his property. 

"Could I get lost back there. . . ?"

"You can't get lost back there."

". . . " 

"Okay, granted. YOU could get lost back there."

In travels like this, it's a fine thing to come across people who *know* you.

I didn't, as it turns out, get lost. Nor did I find much, outside of a few Pacific Wrens, and a couple deer. I tooted for Northern Pygmy-Owl, which got a thrush "tschupp"ing me. They were given in singles, so I assume it was Varied Thrush. 

Again, with so many hours sitting in front of a screen, simply being able to tromp around in the woods, free of all the chatter was a good good thing. I did also inquire about wood. I am trying to get a hold of mugs from every county in the state. Then I'll get a piece of wood from every county in the state, carve it into the shape of that county, put a hook in it, and puzzle piece it together into the finest mug display ever. I'm only like... 30 years from finishing this sucker at this pace. It'll be amazing! Wilson had put some thought into it and suggested that I get some volcano-fallen wood from outside of the National Park Boundaries. I don't think he gathered that I don't travel with a chainsaw. . . or live with one for that matter. . . but I still really like the idea and will likely try to pursue it. Now for that mug. . . 

I got a picture of a bug and expect the full natural history of this bug in the comments now. ;)

Cause after aaaaaaallll.... you're my Steigerwaaaald

And now Wonderwall is stuck in your head. You're welcome!  I stopped at Steigerwald on the way through Clark County. Another two hours of walking was a good addition to my day of driving! Birds added for the Clark yearlist: 

Greater White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose (93), Cinnamon Teal (94), Mourning Dove (95), Rufous Hummingbird (96), Turkey Vulture (97), Osprey (98), Barn Swallow (99), Brown-headed Cowbird (100), Orange-crowned Warbler (101), and Common Yellowthroat (102). This was one of my more productive stops so far during the trip, with over 50 species seen and heard during a brisk walk. 

And how many birds are sitting on my Clark Year Needs Alert on eBird? 61 species. 61!! It's funny to think of how easy it might be to just finish things off. . . but how many times would I need to circle Ridgefield River S Unit birding from my car to make that happen? :D  I shudder to think! 

So, Clark continues to get the short end of the stick for my efforts. That said, I do have my eye on Larch Mountain in May/June! Getting to some of the out-of-the-way spots holds much more appeal for me. No records will be set by this birder in Clark County, but I really do hope to get some exploring in over the course of the year. I don't really need to find all of the birds here. . . there are *plenty* of people doing that daily in Clark!

Cowlitz

I got settled into my hotel, and wandered down to Tim's Tavern where I purchased a bowl of soup, a large side of fries AND an adult beverage. . . for about ten dollars. I don't know what their economic model is, but it's by far the most reasonably priced dive bar I've come across anywhere. Yeah. . . they're a little understaffed at times. If you come in with a little patience, it saddles up with your dollar and goes a long way. 

My friend Sariah dropped in, and we caught up a little, including a mosey down to take in (and produce) some karaoke in Longview. A fine fine end to a productive day. 

April 19th-20th The Great Escape, Days 1 and 2

When I leave on these trips, I'm usually leaving my daughter behind. As a 50/50 parent, I try to adjust the timing of my birding trips to minimize missed days. But. . . with her leaving mid-to-late week for a weekend jazz festival, a window opened up for an extended trip away. . . during April!

I'd long planned on making this trip a Skamania and Wahkiakum focused trip. Skamania. . . Goodness Skamania and the weather. I'd given up altogether in January; I'd gotten intermittently wet in February; and I'd gotten biblically drenched in March. April was okay. Winter was still holding on, with snow as low as 1000 feet in the days leading up to my trip. This slowed the arrival of some migrants, and maybe allowed me to focus my time a little better down below. 

On the 19th, I left Renton when I'd made enough progress on my work. This was late enough in the afternoon that I ended up stuck in traffic on I-5 south for much of the afternoon. It did make for a fun bit of gas-mileage-experimentation, as I tried to see how well cruise control at. . . say 30 miles an hour would work. While it kept me from fully enjoying the experience of getting up to 50, and then, accordion-style, hitting the brakes and coming to a stop over and over, it did result in a long stretch over 40 miles to the gallon!

Skamania Landing

I figured this would be the most likely place to come across shorebirds in late April, with the extensive mudflats. I still may actually believe that shorebirds eat mud. It's a hard belief to shake! They didn't completely let me down - there was a single peep out on the flats as I arrived. But it was way too far out for me to make sense of the bird, so it just went unidentified. 

Squint really hard. . . I did rule out Black-necked Stilt, however.
and Ruff.

Barn Swallows, Rufous Hummingbird, Osprey, and Turkey Vulture all added to my year list in Skamania, bringing it to 77. I made little stops here and there at some of the many little ponds between the rail tracks and the hillsides along the way, hoping for something like a Cinnamon Teal, or a Northern Shoveler, but the day would end at 77 for Skamania. I rolled into my go-to lodging, just inside of neighboring Klickitat County: The Society Hotel, which offers bunks at pretty reasonable rates.

These rates even include an appointment in their soaking spa, where you can throw your body into all sorts of altered-temperature realities! But on this trip, as lengthy as it would be, I knew I'd have to put in some work hours whenever I had a chance to plug in. I sat in their large common room and click-clacked away on my laptop until I had to give up the ghost. 

It was all-in-all a quiet evening! A Wednesday night doesn't usually bring a lot of travelers through, although the gal at the desk informed me that this would be changing shortly with the oncoming wildflower season in the Columbia Gorge. 

Day 12 in the books!

Spring Creek Fish Hatchery

By setting myself up for two nights, I was able to get some good sleep, and still get up right around sunrise for some birding. I got a quick check of emails done from my bunk (plugin and wifi right there!) and boiled up some water for breakfast. I'd packed instant coffee and oatmeal, which made for an inexpensive start to my day. It was an easy start as well, since there is a common area for the bunks that includes an electric kettle. 

I slipped out the door and made my first stop at Spring Creek Fish Hatchery. I had been here a few times over the course of the year, but I made a point this time of parking the car very early and walking the length of the site. 

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This began with a long stare at, and a long listen to, the cliff walls above the hatchery. Canyon Wren is a tough bird in the county and has been reported here a few times over the course of the year. So I gave it a try. No luck on the wrens, although I did get Purple Finches (78 for the year for Skamania), calling from beneath the cliffs. Right in around the entrance, I purchased a 30 dollar annual Discover Pass, dropped it on the dash, and eventually somehow lost the darn thing. But for now, at least, I was doing an honest walk. It started with warblers - Yellow-rumped and a smattering of Orange-crowned (79) in the trails meandering south from the main road. 

Horned Grebe in breeding plumage

Down in the coves along the way, I picked up Mallard and Greater Scaup, and some beautiful Horned Grebes in breeding plumage. I made the obligatory effort to turn some of them into Eared Grebes, but was unsuccessful. Some of them got pretty balled up like EAGRs, but the rest of it was off - a nice caution against using body shape as a definitive ID. 

Downy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers were in the trees here and there. I picked up some Golden-crowned Sparrows, and another new year-bird, White-crowned Sparrow (80).

White Crowned Sparrows

From the very end of the walk, I waited again and listened for Canyon Wrens. It was tough with all of the calls from the Yellow-rumped Warblers. There were at least 50, maybe more, playing through the trees and fish pens, where some even scaled the walls, creeper style, possibly digging bugs out of the crevices? Who knows. There were just a ridiculous num... was a ridicul... hm. There were many Yellow-rumped Warblers. 

Headed back to the car, I found some California Gulls (81) out on the water. I also heard the strangest noise coming from a copse of trees. Naturally, it was a duck. . . in the trees. 

Wood Duck

Red Bluff Road Ponds

Stevenson was my next stop. After a quick stop at the Rock Creek Mill Pond (very quiet), I navigated up and out of town to the Red Bluff Road Ponds. I had a few birds in mind at this stop - Virginia Rail among them. I ended up with some Common Yellowthroats (82), and a brand new sighting for me - Josh, a birder from Stevenson I'd been emailing as the year went along. Once we figured out we were both birding, and got the field marks sorted out, we talked about the birds at the pond. I thought for sure that I was hearing Marsh Wrens. . . not the best Marsh Wren calls, but a nice chittering sound, which is part of their repertoire. I actually had those suckers on my list, but Josh did point out that they had not been seen in a decade or so at those ponds. . . 

I tried Cornell Labs, and pulled up Common Yellowthroat calls, finding one the explained my confusion quite well. Confusion aside, I've wondered about things like this - similar sounds made by birds in a given habitat. Convergent evolution or something of that nature. We checked in on where's and when's of a few birds, and I skedaddled down the road to Strawberry Island. 

Strawberry Island

Osprey

This has been a stop for me twice already this year.  In fact, I checked on my site totals, and after this trip I was at 50 species. Woohoo! 19th best for this place on eBird! hahaha. It's gotten a lot of good attention, and I was happy to just show up when it wasn't raining for once. 

Early in the walk, I got a species that I'd kind of expected all year - Western Meadowlark (83), singing invisibly from well off the trail. This was quickly followed by a flyover of an American Pipit (84). And then nothing for a good long while! Lots of sparrows and a billion unidentifiable swallows way downriver from me. I finally got to where I could see them better, and I sat and enjoyed the swallow thing for a while. I'd settle my binoculars on a spot. . . wait. . . and then follow a swallow as it came into my field of view. . . stay with it until I could identify it, and then drift along with another swallow that popped in, rinse, lather, repeat. I got no new birds this way, but it's awfully nice meditative time. All of it is, really. 

Shame I got here too late for the bluebirds. . . I was thinking when I looked up and saw a Mountain Bluebird (85). 

Mountain Bluebird - The Washington State birding lists say these aren't
seen annually in Skamania, which is surprising to me, because mountains.

Certain that I now had power over the bird universe, I thought "Hermit Thrush would be nice!" Hermit Thrush appeared (86). Got to the end of the trail and summoned a Lincoln's Sparrow into existence with the power of my mind (87). For all of the times that we can't find the damn bird, I sure enjoyed these five minutes!!  After that, my binoculars stopped glowing, and mortality returned. One new bird arrived, not unexpected, but not like. . . weirdly expected: Cliff Swallow (88), swooping along Hamilton Creek's outflow to the Columbia. 

The Lincoln's Sparrow falls into a group of birds that I just associate with this week in April. Hammond's Flycatcher, Hermit Thrush, Greater White-fronted Geese. . . maybe even Bonaparte's Gull. It's not that I *expect* them, because. . . in the immortal words of the late, great, Pete Fahey: "Birds fly."  But there's definitely a push for these birds at this time of year, and one feels glad to have been out at the right time when stumbling on any of them this week. 

Work!

With a walk under my belt and a good number of birds, I started to circle back towards Bingen. In order to make it a proper circle, I actually took a left, and went uphill a little ways to the fair hamlet of Carson. I got a little turned around looking for Backwoods Brewing Company, which gave me a chance to unsuccessfully search for doves - Band-tailed, Eurasian Collared, Mourning - nearly any pigeon or dove. It seemed like a good area for it, but I came up empty, eventually just finding Backwoods, tucked behind a strip mall. 

Honestly - visit Backwoods Brewing *despite* this picture of it! 
Lovely place, but I forgot to snap a pic until I was leaving. 

I'd been here years before on a Father's Day trip. It's not uncommon at all for me to turn Father's Day into a not-birding trip. Finding a hike or something else to do in a county where I might pick up a new bird. . . or might not, but will still enjoy the place, and the faint tingle of possibility. I sat down, plugged in, and waded through some of the upcoming writing I needed to finish. I also got bird observations entered, which is always nice when they are relatively fresh. I am sans smartphone, so I don't get to enter eBird observations as I walk. It also means that I don't have to. . . as I walk. . . "Oh. That's another Song Sparrow.". . . stop. . . poke at a screen. . . "Oh! five more kinglets!" . . . stop. . . poke at a screen. 

There are tradeoffs. 

I got the *small* sampler of their beverages. Six! The "normal" size is 12! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, they could call that the "large sampler", but it's neither here nor there, I suppose. It was good beer, and it was good pizza, and it was a good background bustle that helps keep me focused and working. 

Content, I hopped in the car and started a little Harlequin Duck Hunt. 

A little Harlequin Duck Hunt

I went up Wind River Road and saw on the way up that the river was hugging the road fairly well all the way up. It was always on the right side of the road. . . which is the side we drive on. . . but not the side we sit on. Gosh there are times when I wish I was driving a British car. I was determined that on the way down, I'd pull over to the other si... GROUSE!

As I was mapping this out in my head, I breezed past the Ruffed Grouse standing on the side of the road. It sat there as I pulled to a stop. It sat there as I took a crappy picture of it. It sat there as I cursed my photography skills and adjusted the focus. It flew once I was ready to get a good pic. Laughing. 

lol. I can see it. But I can also see you not seeing it, so don't worry.

I include this as a fun lil "Where's Waldo?" Can you find the Ruffed Grouse (89) in the picture? 

As I was saying. . . on the way down, I'd pull over to the left side of the road, and crawl along the gravel shoulder when possible, looking for Harlequin Ducks sitting on rocks along the way. I've done this before with some success, and I love just taking in the sound of the river as I go. American Dipper (90) and a rattling Hairy Woodpecker (91) were consolation prizes. 

Wind River

Cook Underwood Road

I got back to "The Four", and then turned back uphill when I got to Cook-Underwood Road. This took me past a little batch of Wild Turkeys (92), and some California Quail - not easy to find in the county. With this, I had come back to the end of the county and returned to the hostel in Bingen to really plow through some writing. I was a little bummed, as I simply didn't have enough done to warrant slipping away for the compliment... complem... the free soak that comes with a stay at the hostel. But it was still a comfortable, productive evening to finish a nice birding day in Skamania. 

Day 13 in the books!