This week Kay and I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a mid-week getaway with new friends Patti and Dan Anderson. Tuesday Feb 14 we left about 9 AM and drove south to bird Cowlitz County. We were excited and this was our only good-weather day of the trip. First stop was at the Mt. Saint Helen’s visitor lodge just off I-5 at Battle Creek. There is a big wetlands there, with a walk around the area.
Best bird there was a FOY Cinnamon Teal. Dan is a fairly new birder, and he got plenty of birds he has either not seen or seen seldom, so this was a good start. Next stop at Woodland Bottoms hoping for Sandhill Cranes. They were very obliging, seen in smaller numbers but better looks much closer than my trip here last Saturday.
We also found lots of kestrels, ducks, and a smattering of passerines. To finish the day we backtracked past our hotel in Kelso and went to Willow Grove Road where we added Brewer’s blackbirds and Eurasian Collared Dove to our Cowlitz County list, finishing the day with 51 species. Dan had been really hoping to see SACR and we were all happy to get great looks at these birds.
Wednesday we headed west to Wahkiakum County. First stop was at Cathlamet where Kay found a flock of Wilson’s Snipe at the wetland near the marina. We then went to Julia Butler Hanson NWR where despite pretty constant rain we had a great day and good birds. Highlights were a Black Phoebe seen almost immediately from the east entrance Visitor’s Center deck, an Eurasian Wigeon, and a Red-shouldered Hawk. We also saw at least two Rough-legged Hawks.
Thursday we headed home with a goal of birding in Clark County, primarily at Ridgefield NWR. We started first at the Carty Unit because on arrival we had no rain. We had a delightful walk in the oak and evergreen forest and looks over the extensive marsh. Highlights were the slender billed race of White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, and lots of swans. As we left the Carty Unit the rain started again, and by the time we got to the “S” Unit it was pouring. On the drive in Kay noted that the hillside looked like a mudslide waiting to happen. I told her she had an overactive imagination. We fairly quickly drove the loop, seeing the RSHA, maybe 1000 swans, and relatively few waterfowl otherwise. About 2/3 of the way around a park employee intercepted us and asked us to leave quickly because the hill on the entrance was starting to slip and they wanted to make sure we got out before a mudslide happened. Looks like more intuition than imagination on Kay’s part. Overall this loop more of a overly wet trek than good birding.
On the ride home the weather cleared before Chehalis and we had dry roads after that.
I accomplished my goal of knocking down birding in 3 WA counties this year, 1/13th of the 39 I hope to visit in 2017, and had a nice Valentines Day trip also.