[Tweeters] Northcentral WA Trip - Day 2 - OK Highlands (Part 2)

[Jon Houghton]

> On 02/07/2024 4:00 PM PST Jon Houghton <jonbirder at comcast.net> wrote:

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> Hi Tweets - Sounds like my day 1 tweet, sent from my phone, was scrubbed by our carrier!?!  Oh well, we didn't see much except for really cute Saw-whets at Bridgeport SP.  On Monday, we headed optimistically up to the Okanogan Highlands with our first stop at Fancher Road where we were sure to find Chuckar and Golden Eagle. It was about 32 degrees with light rainy snow but we saw nothing but Ravens and Magpies, not even a quail (more on this spot later). From there, we headed up Siwash Rd. hoping for Sharptailed Grouse and several other birds we often have seen there.  We made it almost to where No. Siwash Cr. Rd. heads north haven seen nothing but Magpie (low down) and Ravens - mostly higher up.  I walked significant [don't know how that got sent prematurely?] portions of the road and we examined all the grouse habitat (S-T and Ruffed) really well, tooting the No. Pygmy Owl, but couldn't find a bird of any kind. Near the top of the road, a guy in a truck came by and said they'd just seen 6 grouse in a tree back down the road. We retraced the entire route to the creek mouth with no luck.  Where he reported the birds, there was a RT Hawk sitting in a tree which likely explains the short stay of the grouse.  Along the No. Fk. Siwash Rd to Havilla Rd. and up to the Sno Park, we saw no birds, again despite stopping walking and tooting in places where usually there's something.  The meadows around Havilla and along Nealy Rd were mostly bare and my checklist for this stretch had one species - Rock Pigeon.  On Nealy Rd. we finally saw a couple of Rough-legs, plus Magpies and Ravens. The area around Chesaw (Havilla Cem. to Bolster) was similarly bird-free (except for Bald Eagle and Ravens) and snow-free although higher elevation fields had a few inches on the ground.  No finches and no grouse in the entire highlands but we did find a Golden Eagle along Mary-Ann Creek road and about 4 chickadees (2 spp) at the feeders at the upper most farm.  There were no visible birds in Molson but we did see one No. Shrike on a phone wire on the way down to Chesaw Rd.  Crossing back toward Havilla, just before we got to the (closed) Sitzmark Ski Area, we found 3 grouse in some shrubby trees. Of course, we immediately assumed Sharp-tailed and Kathleen saw that one had the familiar pointed sharp tail.  However, the one I could get a photo of was clearly a Ruffed.  Oh well... On the way back to Omak, we took another look at Fancher Rd - still no Chuckar around the barns and cattle, but it had stopped precipitating so I got out of the car to scan the slopes above.  I quickly heard the familiar chucking calls and managed to pick out several birds about midway up the slope.  Two stops, going and coming, at McLaughlin Rd. off of Rt. 97 south of Tonasket failed to detect any of the Bohemian Waxwings reported there recently.  Overall, the least winter-like, and least birdy, winter trip we've had to the Highlands.  But, it's still a unique and gorgeous part of the State.  Happy Birding - Jon Houghton, Edmonds

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