[Tweeters] Okanogan County Big Day -- 177 species!

[Nelson Briefer via Tweeters]

Years ago I bumped into Patrick Sullivan, the first and only bump, at
Samish Flats. I asked him about his Goshawk license plate. He told me there
are many Goshawks in the Okanogan. Just sayin. I have never been to the
Okanogan. Nelson Briefer— Anacortes. Cheers.

On Thu, Jun 6, 2024 at 5:51 PM Eric Heisey via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:


> Hi all,

>

> On May 27th, I embarked on an Okanogan County big day, accompanied by

> Methow Valley birder Dj Jones, attempting to find as many species of birds

> as we could in a single day. Located in North Central Washington, the

> state’s largest county boasts impressive diversity for its northern

> latitude. It sits at the convergence of several major ecotypes,

> encompassing the scattered conifer forests and grasslands of the Canadian

> Okanagan region, the Columbia River, the vibrant riparian forest of the

> Methow Valley, and the stunning alpine peaks of the North Cascades.

>

> As such an expansive county, an Okanogan County big day necessitates some

> convoluted navigation. Perhaps the most diverse region of Washington lies

> around the Sinlahekin Valley and Okanogan Highlands, and we therefore made

> it our priority to start with these beautiful locales for owls and the

> prime morning hours. We then blasted south to Cameron Lake Road, for

> grassland specialties and the waterbirds which breed in the glacially

> gouged potholes present there. Afterwards, the Columbia River provided us

> with a fantastic showing of “big water” species and lowland breeders. As

> the evening came round, we sped up into the Methow Valley, reaching

> Washington Pass overlook before 6pm. Our day ended in the Methow, serenaded

> by the hoots of Barred and Flammulated Owls.

>

> This was a true midnight-to-midnight endeavor, and by the end of the

> exhausting day we had managed to find 177 species of bird! This establishes

> a record for the most species seen in one day in a Washington county,

> breaking the previous record of 162 species on a Grays Harbor big day by 15

> species! I have been waiting to post this to confirm this record, as well

> as confirming one addition to the list from a recording I took of a

> Long-eared Owl alarm call which I was immediately familiar with but have

> since had confirmed by a few people who knew this vocalization. It was a

> fantastic project, and I had a ton of fun piecing together this day! I hope

> to have the opportunity to attempt this route again in the future, as I

> believe a total of 180+ is very possible given some of our misses.

>

> You can find the trip report of this adventure at this link:

> https://ebird.org/tripreport/246144

>

> Good birding,

>

> Eric Heisey

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