Today Ken and I headed east to bird Kittitas County. We started just over the summit at the Hyak Sewage Lagoon’s where our highlight was a flock of about 30 Evening Grosbeaks (FOY #1) flying about, calling loudly, and entertaining us. Barrow’s and Common Goldeneye as well as Ring-necked Ducks were on the lagoons, and after a quick stop we headed for Cle Elum.
Next stop was the Railroad Ponds in S. Cle Elum where we located the Pygmy Owl (FOY #2) nest tree, heard Cassin’s Finch (FOY #3) singing, saw a variety of swallows and waterfowl, and an Osprey on a distant nest.
We tried for Red-naped sapsucker at the Teanaway River bridge area marsh, but settled for singing Common Yellowthroats and a pair of Wood Ducks. Next was a new area for me Hart’s Road just off Hwy 10, a dirt road that goes high above the valley, where we looked for Wild Turkey without luck, but got great looks at two Townsend’s Solitaires, Say’s Phoebe, Western Bluebird, Ruffed Grouse, and vistas of the Teanaway Valley.
At an urban stop in Ellensburg a wetland called Bar 14 Pond we looked for Yellow-headed Blackbird, without luck, but better yet we found a soaring Swainson’s Hawk (FOY #4) along with Red-tailed Hawks, TV’s, an Osprey and a Bald Eagle.
We missed Long-billed Curlew on Number 81 Road but Ken located a few Brown-headed Cowbirds (FOY #5) in a huge Starling flock, and then a Brewer’s Sparrow (FOY #6) apparently in migration, definitely out of breeding habitat in a brushy wet area. I couldn’t get on it well enough to count, but got it later in the day. We also met the top Kittitas 2017 eBirder and visited her feeders for our only AMGO of the day. ON nearby Parke Creek Road we again missed LBCU but did see our only “rarity” of the day, a hovering and insect hawking early Western Kingbird (FOY #7).
ON the Old Vantage Hwy, just before we got to Quilomene was a male Mountain Bluebird (FOY #8). Just as we got to Quilomene the wind picked up, and a hail storm struck, pretty much keeping the birdsong down. Immediately on arrival several Sage Thrashers were up singing (FOY #9) and a couple of fairly distant Brewer’s Sparrows sang but it took a while to locate a Sagebrush Sparrow. (FOY #10) A couple sang fairly distantly, then all of a sudden one popped up for a brief photo-op.
We also had good looks at a Loggerhead Shrike here.
Just down the Hwy on a wire was the other shrike species, Northern Shrike. Very nearby a Vesper Sparrow (FOY #11) sang and finally posed for us.

At the Ginkgo Petrified Forrest boat ramp and outlook we tried for Canyon and Rock wren and White-throated swift but no luck.
On Hunzinger Road the wind picked up, and except for a pair of Chukar that scurried up the rocky slope from the roadside when we pulled off the road, we had no luck finding Rock or Canyon Wrens or swifts.
We learned that a weekday ride home after traffic can be pretty easy, and made it home in about 2 hours.