Date: 7/3/25 12:17 pm From: Tim Brennan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Columbia County birding 7/1-2
Howdy!
I got back yesterday from a nice birding trip in Columbia County. I had a dozen or so species I was hoping to find for my year list, and found ten, pushing the year list total to 155. Looking for 12 and finding 5 is much more my speed, so this felt like an embarrassment of riches! 96 species total for the trip, and many other notable wildlife sightings.
Bird-wise, one of the most productive stretches was FR 6436, which loops around from North Touchet Road to meet up with Kendall Skyline Road. I got buzzed by a Rufous Hummingbird off on a spur - 6437, where there were also many Western Tanagers, MacGillivray Warblers, and a distantly calling Pileated Woodpecker. Back on 6436, some tooting for Northern Pygmy Owl got responses from one such owl, and some Canada Jays. Starting here, and for much of the rest of the morning I was treated to amazing views of the blues, wildflowers galore, and a massive movement of California Tortoiseshell butterflies. It had to be thousands of them over the course of the morning - nothing I'd experienced before.
Shortly after meeting up with Kendall Skyline Road, I flushed a Dusky Grouse from the roadside, and a second within the next mile or so. There are some nice open spaces for them up there, so this code 4 bird wasn't really a surprise, but still a very welcome find. Up on that stretch I also got my FOY (and only) Turkey Vulture.
Approaching Godman CG, there is a hillside view with lots of snags on one side, and brush on the other. I had two Brewer's Sparrows here - a species I have always associated with sagebrush. They've been seen by several observers up in the Blues this year (and, upon research, in other years) on the Kendall Skyline Road. Nice to have this change my picture of their preferred habitat! I heard more, lower down below Godman, and also heard more singing Green-tailed Towhees, not quite in the same spot where I'd had them before. I'd wager that they are not difficult to find annually along Kendall Skyline Road with some understanding of habitat, familiarity with the song, and a little bit of timing.
The focus yesterday was Tucannon Road. Lower on the road, I finally got an Eastern Kingbird, in addition to several Westerns. I went to Rainbow Lake, where my target species was Red-eyed Vireo. I didn't find any, but got to enjoy great views of a Striped Skunk, and equally great views of Gray Catbirds. There were so many of them all around the lake. It's a species that I've almost always experienced calling from deep cover, but there were lots of them out in the open, including on the trail I walked around the lake. Spotted Sandpipers are breeding up there, and I even got a look at another bird I don't often see - a Veery!
Driving slow as I left Rainbow Lake, with windows down, I did finally come across a Red-eyed Vireo. There are likely quite a few on this little stretch of the Tucannon. I continued to Panjab campground, following up on a Black-backed Woodpecker sighting in the last month or so. I walked 50-60 yards along the road when I saw a bear and cub crossing the road back by my car. This put a damper on any thoughts of doing more hiking in this area for me. I do have bear spray on hand, but didn't have it with me, and there was a lot to explore along the road without venturing far from my car. Inspections of further snag forests got me nothing more exciting than a Lewis' Woodpecker.
On the way back down Tucannon Road, I finally found a Swainson's Hawk, having an in-flight conversation with a Red-tailed Hawk. It eventually moved to a nearby ridge and dropped into some tall grass and out of sight.
Wonderful trip! I tried to be a little smarter about rattlesnakes this time around, but still got a decent picture of one - unfortunately in the clutches of a Red-tailed Hawk! Lots of insect pictures, including moths, bees, and butterflies. Should be a few days to get pictures sorted, checklists entered, and then I'll get the whole business up in my blog.
