Marian and I took a break from politics, seawatching and Pierce County and headed off south so I could try to put a few more WA counties into the >100 species seen bucket. Thursday was a beautiful day, and we started at a clearcut in northern Cowlitz County that is not far from I-5 but gets into higher elevation habitat that I’d not birded in Cowlitz before, Barnes Drive State Forest South. It’s a fairly extensive clearcut with easy parking and access. Canada Jays were seen and heard almost immediately, and when I whistled my NOPY imitation two Northern Pygmy Owls responded almost immediately from either side of the logging road to the cut area. We tried but could not locate them, though they moved around a bit. Lincoln’s Sparrow, Fox Sparrow and Varied Thrush were also new Cowlitz species for me, pushing my county list from 98 to 103 on the first stop. We then headed to Wahkiakum County.
A California Gull at County Line Park was #98 for the county, followed by Pine Siskin at Brook’s Slough and a pair of Downy Woodpeckers near Andrew Emlen’s kayak tour shop on Steamboat Slough for #100. We spent a beautiful late afternoon at Julia Butlere NWR where Lincoln’s Sparrow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Peregrine Falcon and Virginia Rail brough Wahkiakum one ahead of Cowlitz at 104 and the sun set on a beautiful day.
After staying in Kelso we awoke to wind, rain and cold weather. Fog was thick and birding nearly impossible. We tried some car birding in the Woodland Bottoms area, and #104 for the county were a few Northern Shoveler at the Longview Sewer Ponds. We did see lots of Sandhill Cranes in the bottoms, but quit early there and headed for the primary county of my trip, Skamania.
Stops just past the county line at Franz Lake just got me wetter, though even in the heavy rain both swan species were easily seen. We headed for Rock Creek Mill Pond, where a Ross’s Goose had been seen the day prior. Highlight there was meeting Jim Danzenbaker. Jim is a very well known WA birder, prior WOS president and Battleground, WA resident. He had birded the area despite the rain and wind and not seen the ROGO, saving me some wet searching time. We had a nice chat, and I added a somewhat unusual Western Gull, along with American Coot and Pied-billed Grebe to my list.
The rain let up a bit, and several stops along the river added Herring Gull, a somewhat uncommon Surf Scoter, and Greater Scaup. At the Drano Lake Fish Hatchery area a Common Loon was in the protected area of water, and an American Dippers was near the hatchery bridge. Lesser Scaup by the mouth of Windy River, and then time lost wandering around the Strawberry Island area yielded just CBCH and California Gull, leaving me far short of the hoped for list for the day, at 82 life in the county.
No good places we could find to stay in Stevenson, so we crossed the Bridge of the Gods to Hood River, stayed at a nice Best Western, and in a first for the Covid-time at a restaurant on an outside deck with a gas heater and had a vegan burger and I tried a flight of local beers.

Saturday turned beautiful, and we headed for higher elevation Skamania County. My navigation skills failed us, as I tried going up the Wind River Hwy with goal of lots of stops enroute to Takhlakh Lake Campground. Well, we made lost of stops, had plenty of Canada Jays eating our of Marian’s hands, and wound up on a dead end road at Steamboat Lake. I cried uncle, we made it back to Trout Lake, finding “Tire Junction” on the way, and took main roads up to the campground, getting there about noon.

Highlights of the wandering route were a Sooty Grouse Marian spotted beside the road, and I managed to relocate just off the road with a little bushwhacking, a flock of Red Crossbills at Old Man Pass Sno Park, and beautiful scenery.

The campground at Takhlakh is spectacular, with Mt. Adams just across the lake. A NOPY responded to my whistles, and circled all around us several times eluding visuals. Oddly for Oct 31 an Osprey called and circled overhead. Mountain Chickadee was the only additional county lifer.

We made our way back down, making a few stops in Klickitat County at Trout Lake and Bingen Pond and adding Yellow-rumped Warbler as the sun set on Halloween, 2020.
at a Pizza Place, great pizza, a couple beers on draft, and a table without service far from other places, and stayed dry.

We stayed in Oregon again in Hood River at another Best Western, and decided to try a Pizza Place, great pizza- really great pizza, a couple beers on draft, and a table without service far from other places, and stayed dry. I decided to try to get Klickitat to 100, and we managed Sunday morning, adding Peregrine Falcon, Northern Harrier and Virginia Rail at a quick stop back at Bingen Pond before heading for an area familiar to me from summertime birding, the Lyle-Balch Cemetery and Acorn Woodpecker area. In short order we added Varied Thrush, Steller’s Jay, and California Quail, getting to #99. The pond was nearly dry, but on getting down the hill to the old granary area for Acorn Woodpecker, a Red-breasted Sapsucker flew into the small treed just across Old Hwy 8. I found a great parking spot to look for ACWO, about 100 yards east of the Balsh Hill Rd junction with Old Hwy 8, pulled in and set up the scope. In a few minutes an Acorn Woodpecker flew in and perched atop a very tall snag. This turned out to be what I think may be a new granary tree. It’s easy to see, maybe 100-150 yards from the road, and in clear sight just east of straight across from the place I parked. At least 3 ACWO were working the tree, and it had lots of acorn holes.
We wrapped up the trip back at the Rock Creek Mill Pond park, adding Northern Shoveler and an unusual Snow Goose to my county list, leaving it only 94.
The trip home was uneventful, and on getting home we watched the Seahawks (on recording) destroy the 49ers to wrap up a great trip.
I now have >=100 species in all the counties in WA west of I-90. My next big county listing trip may be to Spokane, Ferry, Lincoln and Whitman Counties in a week or two.