Trip to Washington and Idaho

[tysondanny]

Hi all,

Had a family vacation from July 4 to 13 down through Washington and we just dipped into Idaho for a day. The weather was amazing with a clear skies and high temps, the highest being 39 degrees in Leavenworth, WA.

Here are some highlights

Potholes State Park July 4

American White Pelican - 21
Forster's Tern - 8
Great Egret - 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 3
Great Horned Owl - 3 family group eating a Nuttall's Cottontail.

Frenchman Hills Road July 5

Swainson's Hawk - 2
Sagebrush Lizard - 2 a species I had not seen before

Mill Creek in Walla Walla July 5

Lesser Goldfinch - 2

Lewis and Clark Trail State Park July 6

Veery - 2
Wild Turkey - 2
Yellow-breasted Chat - 1
Gray Catbird - 2
Lesser Goldfinch - 3
Western Screech Owl - 4 family group

Biscuit Ridge Road near Dixie July 6

Black-chinned Hummingbird - 2
Cordilleran Flycatcher - 2
Green-tailed Towhee - 1
Wild Turkey - 7
Grasshopper Sparrow - 1

Palouse Falls July 7

White-throated Swift - 15
Horned Lark - 1
western Rattlesnake - 1 hit by a car and had the rattle removed, sad sight.

On July 8 we dipped into Idaho near Potlatch and had around 37 species in the 35 degree weather. The better finds were Lesser Goldfinch, Vaux's Swift, Bank Swallow and Red Crossbill.

Back in Washington at Steptoe Butte State Park, we had a Rock Wren in the only rocky habitat that is surrounded by rolling wheat fields as far as the eye can see.

Good Birding,

Dan Tyson
Langley, BC

[murraybrown]

Nice list Dan. That Cordilleran Fly would be a lifer for me. Agree that it's a shame to hear of the fate of that rattlesnake as I think in many cases they could be avoided by the drivers. I encountered one in Potholes when camping there a few years back and also a really, really, big bull snake lying out on the rocks without a care in the world!