January 4th - More Snowy Adventures

 

The Lyle Hotel

Neat little chess set at the Lyle Hotel
The Maryhill Museum has a permanent
exhibit with chess sets that I plan to see

This was my final day in Klickitat for my January trip, and I was saying goodbye to the homey place that had kept me warm for a couple nights. I'm kind of sad that the ownership will be changing, as the current owner was awfully pleasant and accommodating, but it's such a lovely building, complete with restaurant and bar; I have hopes that it will continue to be a nice place to stay in the future.

My first couple days in the county had given me a total of 51 species. I considered that a pretty nice start to the year, especially given the weather, hours of daylight, etc. I got a shower across the hall, had a light breakfast, packed up my things, and hit the road. 

I wasn't a hundred percent sure where I would be off to on this particular day, but my first task was to drive up a couple blocks and give the Centerville Highway a look. It drops down into Lyle and had looked frighteningly undriveable the previous day. 

Centerville Highway and Highway 142 - two ways in and out of Lyle

I was pleasantly surprised to find the road, at least at the bottom, to be plowed, and clear. It was a slushy morning more than anything, but I thought I could head up the road, always keeping the question in mind: "Could I turn around if it gets worse in 20 feet?".

Centerville Highway

Finally, some forest

The road did pick up some snow, as seen in the picture, but there also appeared to be some gravel on the plowed road, so it was pretty easy going. My first new birds of the day were Wild Turkeys (52), one of two fairly large flocks I found roaming the forests and high prairie that day. Shortly after passing them, I found this safe spot to pull over and bird. Finally being in a little patch of forest helped me pick up a nice bunch of new year birds: Red-breasted Nuthatch (53), White-breasted Nuthatch (54), Black-capped Chickadee (55), Pine Siskin (56), and Lewis's Woodpecker (57). 

I do hope to get some nice pictures of some LEWOs during the year, as they really are pretty birds, and Klickitat County is a great place to find them. California Scrub-Jays are also bountiful here. Farther up the road, another stop got me my first Black-billed Magpie of the year (58). 

The road did wind back and forth a bit during some long stretches, so I was sad to find that, in current conditions, there weren't going to be a lot of places to pull over. 

One place that I really had hopes to visit on this trip was Swale Creek. I have to admit that some combination of the snow and my newness to the area kept this from coming to fruition. In the months to come, it will be an area where I'll be looking for owls, partridge, and possibly American Tree Sparrows. 

I have seen this area referred to as a "high plain", and will stick with that description

For now, I was content following Harms Road for about a mile, picking up Horned Lark (59) along the way - a flock of about 80 birds. Back to the Centerville Highway once more, I found one more stop where I had a flock of American Goldfinches passing overhead (60).

Goldendale

Bake my Day Cafe - Goldendale

My next stop was food and coffee in Goldendale. I stopped in at the Bake my Day Cafe and had a pretty basic breakfast. Great potatoes but far more than I could eat! I admired the baked goods, although some of them, the cake above included, would likely have killed me. A woman came in with her young daughter, who absolutely exploded with joy upon seeing those slices of cake!

The cafe was obviously open, although the snow clearly had them understaffed, and a note on the door kindly asked for patience. I sat and contemplated different paths from here - I could return down the Centerville Highway, I could head down to the Columbia via 97, possibly heading up to Brooks Memorial State Park first, or I could head down on highway 142 through Glenwood and the town of Klickitat. 

Looking at the possible birds on my list, I decided on the last of those options. I did want to start heading towards White Salmon and Bingen once more, hoping to follow up on sightings of Snow and Cackling Geese, so Highway 97 just seemed like a long haul. I also wanted more chances to pick up more forest birds, and the Klickitat Valley seemed promising for that. 

Goldendale to Lyle - 142

West of Goldendale

The top bit of the road was not all too productive, with Common Ravens, American Kestrels, and Northern Harrier being the highlight. 

Highway 142 - West end

The highway zigs and zags North and West from Goldendale, before turning back southward, joining the Klickitat River eventually for one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in the state (in my opinion). 

Starting down along the winding road

A Cooper's Hawk (61) was my first new bird on this highway, diving out of a forested patch, and across a field. I got more Lewis's Woodpeckers, as well as a Hairy Woodpecker (62) as I continued. 

Klickitat river from Wahkiacus

Finally, I got to a nice spot to get out and scan the river. It was running rapidly enough that I was hopeful I might find an American Dipper on the rocks in the Klickitat. An early stop got me a Pacific Wren (63), and a Steller's Jay (64) - birds more common at home, and good confirmation that taking this west road, rather than Highway 97 was a slightly better choice. 

There were some Bald Eagles along the road as well. Apologies if they are tough to see in the pictures. I'm just doing my best. 

It took a few stops, but I did finally find a dipper. I nearly had a picture of it on a rock when it flew upstream. I waited a few minutes for it to come back before finally deciding to follow it upriver, where it sang happily from a rock. A little distant, but still photogenic. 

American Dipper (65)

It's always fun to find these little guys, and they're very local - meaning if you find them in a spot, you have likely found a good "Dipper Spot". I'll try to find this stretch of road again on future trips and get a better pin on it!

Bingen and White Salmon

These towns kind of bloop into each other, although I now realize that White Salmon is not really on Highway 14 - it's got a little loop of a road (although half of that road was closed for snow) that connects it to 14 from either end. So, I went through Bingen first, heading to the West end of town on slushy roads to find the spot where a flock of Snow Geese had been seen. One stuck around! 

Snow Goose (66)

Snow Geese are code 4 birds in Klickitat - not seen every year, and by far the rarest sighting of the trip for me. This was a good way to wrap things up before getting lunch and heading home. 

Everybody's Brewing

I was happy with the picture at right. It's always nice to capture good food and beverages, and this counted as both (the chicken burrito ended up being lunch the next day as well!). It captures a pretty typical scene, with the laptop open at a comfortable place with wifi and a plug-in. The mask mandate sign is on the window, garland is still on the light posts outside, and snow is on the ground.

It just paints a picture of, "despite some obstacles, this was a very nice trip." 

I'm okay with that painting.