I got to Eastern Washington again this week.  This time with my friend Michelle (Michelle Linafelter Photography). We hit some of her favorite birding spots in the Cle Elum area. We found quite a bit to keep us occupied for the day. I got at least 4 life birds during the course of the day, including one rare bird.  To see more pictures from the day, click here: June 17, 2017.

First stop we saw the most variety of birds, and my one rare bird sighting.  The Veery is a type of Thrush found in the northern US (except west of the Cascade Mountains).  It is not common in the Cle Elum, but the call was very Thrush-like.  Very eerie.  I was very pleased when one showed up right by the river, giving me a good chance to get off a few shots.

Veery

Also at that location we found a Warbling Vireo (life bird number two for the day):

Warbling Vireo

And a Western Wood-Pewee (life bird number 3 for the day). Western Wood-Pewee

On to site number two. It was fairly quiet, except we found the best activity along a fairly quiet river bank.

A Bullock's Oriole (life bird number 4 for the day)

Bullock's Oriole

And there was probably a Yellow Warbler nesting area.  We never saw the nest, but we did see lots of food gathering activity.

Yellow Warbler

On to site number 4, a road leading up a large hill.  We went through an old burn area, so lots of dead tree snags. The best sighting of that section, though, was a cliff with many bird nests, including a Turkey Vulture nest.  The chicks took off just as we were arriving. This is not a life bird, but it is my first good photo of one.

Turkey Vulture chicks I also got a peek-a-boo view of a Western Tanager.  Always a treat:

Western Tanager On to the last location. A wind-swept hillside with a few bluebird boxes along the road. We only saw a few bluebirds, but we saw many Cassin's Finches. He was sitting with his back to the wind, so it gave him this funky hairdo.

Cassins' Finch It was a great day of birding. I will go back at different times of the year to see what we can catch.  There is a Kestrel that lives up on that hill, and we got a very distant view of him hunting, but we hope for a better view next time.

Lastly, just a few wildflower pictures from the day: