Lunar Eclipse from the parking lot of the Omak Inn on Saturday night.

When Kay and I took the kids on any kind of trip, one of our family traditions was that we tried to “finish strong.” On this trip the group did just that. At about 1:50 PM, after not finding Bohemian Waxwing anywhere, including the usually reliable Central Ferry Canyon Road, I got a text from Shep Thorp that his group had located a Snowy Owl on Heritage Road on the Waterville Plateau. After brief discussion we decided to go for it, though not on a direct route home.

A cropped photo of the Prairie Falcon.

As Fred led the 60 mph plus dash there we spotted a distant bird on a large erratic in a field off Hwy, 172, and presto, our only Prairie Falcon was added to the list.

Snowy Owl distant photo.

We did a dance and continued to the spot for the SNOW. As we got close to the described spot, our eyes in our back, namely Ryan and Bryon in the back car who all trip had been picking up great birds we drove by, radioed that they may have the owl. Sure enough, a very white, mile-distant Snowy Owl was perched on a small pile of rocks in a wheat field, and we all got nice scope views and some distant photos.
The ride home was uneventful.

We one time used the color of cows as a location landmark. I like this rear-end shot of these cattle.

Now the rest of the story. We met at the Snoqualmie Rest stop, and headed for Confluence Park in Wenachee. Birds on the water were few, but we did make the eBird alert with a single Greater White-fronted Goose mixed with a large flock of Canada Geese and a few Cackling Geese on the lawns.
Up on the Waterville Plateau we found the expected large flocks of Horned Larks, good numbers of Snow Buntings, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, but no Gray Partridge, no Prairie Falcons, Gyrfalcons, or Snowy Owls. At the Heritage Road site we found the flock of American Tree Sparrows, but they were very skittish and good looks were had by only a few. No Long-eared Owl was found.

Coopers Hawk

We finished day 1 looking for raptors, especially the SNOW on the plateau and headed for Omak as darkness settled. Dinner at the Breadline was as expected, good.
Day 2 we headed up to the Okanogan Highlands, and the first major stop was indicative or our success this trip on gallinaceous species. No Chuckar, no Gray Partridge, and not even the usually present Golden Eagle. We did hear a Canyon Wren calling.

On Siwash Creek Road we missed Sharp-tailed Grouse again, and settled for nice looks and listens to both Type 2 (Ponderosa Pine) and Type 4 (Douglas Fir) Red Crossbills.
The rest of the day in the highlands was a bit of a struggle. We managed lots of Northern Shrikes, brief but exciting looks at an adult Goshawk, initially perched, and then actively hunting among the clearings and trees. A Northern Pygmy Owl was spotted by our ace back-car crew on Bolster Road, and great looks and photos were enjoyed by all.

Northern Pygmy Owl

Dinner at our usual Mexican place was delayed as the New England Patriots went to overtime to defeat Fred’s cousin’s (Andy Reid) Kansas City Chiefs.
On Sunday we drove across Cameron Loop Road. At the usual “flag” stop we managed Pygmy Nuthatch and more crossbills, but at best heard a White-headed Woodpecker drumming, but none of us were confident enough to list it. At the cattle pen off Cameron Lake Loop Road we again found Snow Buntings, but Ryan and Bryan spotted Gray Partridge both on the ride in and the ride out. We all got on them on the road out. While stopped to see the partridge, a flock of American Tree Sparrows flew behind us, and from there the trip down the hill was uneventful.
Next stop was at Bridgeport State Park, for Northern Pygmy Owl. Bruce found on in the usual trees, and Bryan then found another, so close we could only see if in dense branches if we looked from about 18 inches below.

The first NSWO found by Bruce. The second was too close and too obscured for a photo.

From there we looked many places for Bohemian Waxwings. A nice try by our ace spotters again found a flock of Cedar Waxwings, with a nice mix of other passerines, but no BOWA. The rest of the story is at the lead of this post.

The wrong (Cedar) Waxwing on Central Ferry Canyon Road.

Varied Thrush

Another wonderful winter trip led by our faithful mentor Ken Brown, featuring perfect weather, and the bird mentioned above.
Good birding.