September Trip - Day One 9/10

Migration

I missed much of spring migration, so I had a lot of hopes for this trip to Chelan.  Shorebirds (my list was stuck at 4 species of them), gulls (2), and raptors were the main targets.  The shorebirds were not something I held a lot of hope for, given the dry August and dry start of September.  They need mud!  One of the best locations for shorebirds in the county - The Cashmere STP - had been dry for some time, meaning that a search of the Wenatchee waterfront would be in order.


Looking for raptors on Chelan Ridge would also be part of the plan.  In the entire state, this is perhaps the single best spot to watch raptors come through in the fall, and I'd never visited!   Factoring in other possibilities, including recent reports, I had hopes for adding a handful of birds to the year list.  Sitting at 185, and the year starting to come to a close, 200 birds is sitting right where it should:  Not easy.  Not impossible.   My favorite kind of goal.

Bright and early

Okay... maybe just early

Incidentally, this is my favorite way to start a trip.  Ridiculously early departure time to get somewhere before the sun comes up.  I made my... well I'm not sure how many times I've done Blewett Pass this year, but I used to think it took a long time to navigate it.  It feels like an easy drive now, maybe because I recognize the turnoffs as I go, rather than just seeing it as an endless winding road.  Wenatchee was the first landing point for me.  I tried Horse Lake Road, making perhaps my last attempt at a Wester... I mean California Scrub-Jay that had been seen there.  Interesting finds nonetheless, including an Anna's Hummingbird, (had been tough earlier in the year), and a Lincoln's Sparrow (not new for the year, but they are in migration and show up everywhere this time of year.

Confluence State Park

I started on the Confluence end - the northern end of the string of waterfront parks in Wenatchee, with dreams of gulls, shorebirds and sparrows.  The gull was the first one to come.  A Herring Gull on a little sandbar where the Wenatchee River empties out into the Columbia.  A dozen or so yellow-footed gulls had a few pink-footed ones joining them - the first ones I'd seen all year in Chelan!  I'll admit that I haaaaaaaate working with immature gulls, but I think I survived this ID challenge well enough.

Herring Gull

Understand... I was holding my phone up and pointing it at the gulls with the sand bar in the center, then inserting my binoculars in front.  I got a few good enough shots and some video to go with Herring Gulls - the most likely pink footed gull in the county.  They had dark primaries (not a Glaucous-winged), and the flatter head and thicker bill fit Herring Gull quite well. 186 for the year!

The gulls were seen as I walked south along the edge of the large campground, taking advantage of peekaboo views of the water where I could.  As I continued along the edge, I found another Lincoln's Sparrow in the brush.  Several ducks were floating around in the little sloughs, including a Wood Duck, which is a species I hadn't seen in quite a few months.

Horan Natural Area

Plenty of Savannah Sparrows in there

I haven't been able to tell properly from signs, but in my head, when I have crossed the bridge over the Wenatchee, and turn towards the Columbia, I'm in the Horan Natural Area.  The tall grass in here held a dozen or two Savannah Sparrows (187) which had been such a tough bird to find - not so in migration! They were easily pulled up with some light pishing, and seemed to be mixed in equal numbers with White-crowned Sparrows - both of them flushing constantly from the trail in front of me to dive into the tall grass.

Walla Walla Point Park

So, once I get back to the main paved path, I figure I'm in Walla Walla Point Park.  Walking along the tree-lined edge of the park and trying to get a view of the water, I was running into trouble, but it does open up if you keep walking - allowing a good view of the little cove and a good bit of mud as well.  While most of the mud was occupied by gulls and killdeer, I did get a good clear call from a Western Sandpiper - the strained quality separating it from Least Sandpiper - and with binoculars was able to see the little peep alongside a Killdeer.  Still too far out for a good view, but it made for a good morning with three new species, putting me at 188 for the year.

There's a Western Sandpiper in this picture for those that are counting - Walla Walla Point Park

Then I walked all the way back.

This isn't a highlight, obviously, but it's gotta be done anytime I do this park.  Ugh!

Breakfast!

I wanted a chance to get a bite, and also to check for any interesting reports for the day, so I pulled into Smitty's in town and joined the midmorning brunchers of Wenatchee.  The food was just fine, and the coffee a little weak (it has to be in a local café in Eastern Washington, yeah?), and the service was great.  The best report I had to follow was one from Clara Lake near Mission Ridge that included a Brown Creeper and a Black-backed Woodpecker, so that became priority number one.

Clara Lake Trail

Clara Lake Trail

Heading up from the Mission Ridge Ski Area above Wenatchee, a trail leads up to Clara Lake, along a moderately steep, but well maintained trail.  The biggest thing I noticed on the way up, at the lake, and on the way down.  There were an awful lot of dogs on the trail!

Bird-wise, this was a big dip, although there were a few nice surprises.  Quite a few Hairy Woodpeckers - nice views of them, and a nice chance to get even more familiar with their drumming pattern.  Some hikers asked me something about did-I-see-the-bear while I was looking for one of these Hairy Woodpeckers, but I was pretty focused.

Clara Lake

Fireweed

The lake itself was pretty enough, and I spied a few hammocks strung up on the far side of the lake - not a bad idea on a pleasant day as it was.  Lots of critters were chattering on the way up as well, mostly chipmunks of one kind or another, but not the birds I was looking for.

On the way down, I stopped to get some pictures of fireweed, thinking ahead to a fire ecology unit we do later in the year, when I saw a couple sparrows scurry off of the trail in front of me.  I waited for them, and found that they were Golden-crowned Sparrows - not a very common find for me at this altitude, and in this much tree cover, although this break in the trees, and the seed crop available helped me make sense of it.

Hotel/Evening explorations

South of Wenatchee - a few lakes

I decided, dusty and sweaty and tired as I was after a couple hikes, that a hotel was in order, so I grabbed a room at the Economy Inn in Wenatchee while trying to figure out what exactly to chase to finish out the day.  I decided to try the lakes near Malaga for waterfowl (I still need Blue-winged Teal and Northern Pintail for the year),

It was interesting trying to find a good view of the little lake just off of the Malaga-Alcoa Highway, and was able to eventually find a few Great Blue Herons, Mallards, and Green-winged Teals.  It seems like such a nice little spot, and being right off of the Columbia, it wouldn't shock me at all to find some better birds in there at different times of the day or different times of the year.

Lake Cortez has a single pull off that allows for views down the narrowest part of the lake. I found nothing of real interest here with the limited view.

Meadow Lake after sunset

Meadow Lake was a bit better!  I found a nice pull off that allowed for good views across the lake.  Nothing too interesting showed up, but with the muddy edges of this lake, I think it would be a good stop during any migration period.  More interesting, in the marsh on the other side of the road, I was able to call up a Virginia Rail - not an easy bird in the county!

Back to the waterfront

The sun was down, and it seemed like it was still light enough to try for Barn Owl at Horan Natural area.  I zipped back through Wenatchee and got to the park just in time to explain to the ranger that I just wanted to run in and look for Barn Owls, which had A) been seen in the park recently and 2) ought to have been hunting at this time of day.  "You want... wait what?"   I explained it again, and he laughed, letting me in.


I hit a pretty good jog across the bridge - a good sign for my ankle which is still on the mend (indefinitely?), and arrived at the large field just inside Horan.  I waited, listened, tried a couple calls - mostly mouse squeaks, but I saw nothing as I scanned the area with my eyes and binoculars.  I gave it about 15-20 minutes and finally gave it up.  After a little negotiation with a family of deer blocking the path, I got back to the car, the hotel, the bed.