Late July trip - pulling a few more birds out of the doldrums (Part 2)

Union Valley Road

How interesting to see a place at such different times of the year!  I had made one small foray up the road in January, again with Kevin Black in February, but when I woke up in Chelan on this day in late July, I decided to make the full loop of it.  The entire length of the road has homes, but they're all so spread out that it usually feels like an empty forest road.  I recognized places from the first part of the drive, and enjoyed some birds that I hadn't seen a whole lot of - Mourning Dove, White-breasted Nuthatch and Lark Sparrow.

Union Valley Road

Apricots in Chelan - just parking lot apricots!

As I crested what seems to be the high point on the road, it was fun to hit new stretches of road.  These eventually took me out of the ponderosa pine forest to a wide opening above a grassy field.  This is where I got a new year bird - Clark's Nutcracker!  Five or six of them were flying overhead giving their harsh nasal calls.  I'd been trying to find them at the end of some forest roads, but came up empty handed.  Oddly, this was one of the few birds left that I had seen in the county before, but not this year, having seen one in the town of Chelan several years back.  This put me at 179.

The road eventually descended and closed the loop, bringing me back to Chelan.

Leaving Chelan to get to Chelan

It's a bit of a pain to get all the way up to Washington Pass, but the trip is kind of gorgeous.  I made my breakfast stop in Twisp at the Twisp bakery - finding some good coffee, as well as some provisions for the hike I had planned to Blue Lake.  I could tell from signs and from the trees themselves that there would be fruit waiting for me at the end of the day!

Washington Pass

Do you see it...?  okay maybe not.

Washington Pass is the highest point of Highway 20 across the northern part of the state.  It is not open all year, as it becomes impractical to keep it clear of snow year round.  It also happens to be on the stretch of Highway 20 that is in Chelan County.  I drove all the way up to the visitor center and was immediately greeted by the sounds of a very vocal (and... beak..al?) pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers.

That's better:  American Three-toed Woodpecker

One was hammering away at a tree, which drew my attention first, while the female was making alarm calls from the nest.  This was a bird I hadn't hoped, but not expected to see this year because of the fires from the previous summer, and it turned out that there were quite a good handful of sightings across the county by late July.  I enjoyed the life looks, and also had a Pine Grosbeak passing overhead.

As I returned to Highway 20, I pulled off to explore the meadowy area right off of the highway.  I had heard from several sources that Savannah Sparrows were breeding here, and there were even recent sightings!  Nonetheless, this nemesis bird continued to be a nemesis. 

Savannah Sparrows here?  Not today for me - Washington Pass

Blue Lake

Most of the hike to Blue Lake

The trail to Blue Lake has had Spruce Grouse in the past, as well as Three-toed Woodpeckers, and I wasn't convinced that I couldn't find Sooty Grouse on the trail either!  Add in other possibilities like Black Swift, Goshawk, maybe American Pipit... I had a lot of possibilities in mind as I struck off on this trail.

As the trail ascended, things opened up

I had started my hike early enough to really take my time on this one.  I had a feeling that grouse might be off of the trail, and that stopping to give spots a more careful look might turn something up.  Despite these hopes there were no grouse of any sort.  The best birds were another (I assume) pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers.  I was able to hear one giving similar calls to the female at the parking lot at Washington Pass, and had another one seen just off of the trail. 

Easy hike to a lake that apparently had plenty of Cutthroat Trout!   I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

A leisurely drive home allowed me to grab that fruit I'd wanted: Plums, Apricots and Peaches, which made for a pleasant drive home.