ABC Trip Report – Waterville Plateau, Okanogan Highlands, Conconully, Feb 16 -18, 2013.

Led by Ken Brown. reported by Ryan Wiese:

We usually do one trip a year to the North Central Washington Region but this year, we had enough folks and enough desire to make a second run in February. It turned out to be a great time to go. The temperatures were reasonable- lows in the 20’s, highs in the 30’s, the sun was out and the birds were still around.

Birding on the Waterville Plateau the first day yielded thousands of Horned Larks but little else. A beautiful, adult male Snowy Owl was spotted. In the sunlight, it actually glowed whiter than the surrounding snow. On the way down from the plateau we found a couple Sharp-tailed Grouse. The highlight of the day was the three Northern Saw-whet owls and two Great Horned owls found at Brewster State Park. Spring was apparently in the air when we witnessed the Great-horned owls mate just before dark.

Day two started off hot in Tonasket when we located a large flock of Bohemian Waxwings and a small group of Pine Grosebeaks. On the way up to the Okanogan Highlands found a large flock of 50+ Chukar, and a Golden Eagle. At the feeders on Nealey Road we found a sizeable group of Redpolls and several Grey-crowned Rosy Finches. Later in the day we found a Northern Pygmy Owl. We finished off the day trying for a Great Gray Owl at the snowpark, along with about 15 other birders but apparently all our good fortune had been used up in the morning’s haul.

Day three started off well, when we located the flock of White-winged Crossbills in Conconully. As we started the drive back to Tacoma, we made another detour to the Waterville Plateau. We were lucky to get tips from a couple other birders, who put us onto a nice group of Gray Partridge and an amazing flock of several hundred Snow Buntings. It was a great way to end the day as we contemplated all the great finds over the weekend on the drive back to Tacoma.