Right now, dozens of long-distant migrating songbirds are setting up shop in our shrubby canyons, leafy aspen groves, and riverside cottonwood forests. I invite you to visit one of these nearby habitats to hear and see colorful songbirds who have arrived from Mexico and Central America to nest and raise young in our valley. Check out an earlier blog titled, ” Neotropical migrants raising young in our canyons.”

Last weekend, the virtual 2020 Leavenworth Spring Birdfest included a 7-minute bird outing video, filmed in Wenatchee’s Number Two Canyon. The video features my friend, Jane, and I at one of our favorite spots for social-distancing roadside birdwatching, one mile from my home.. We often go early in the morning for less than an hour, when birds are actively feeding, defending territories, and flying.

Along the canyon’s paved county road, four habitat types converge: cliffs, talus slopes, upland shrub-steppe, and riparian shrublands. Finding places were different habitats meet allows a viewer to see a higher diversity of birds. It is important to view birds from the roadside, respecting private property by not trespassing. Early morning is the best time to view songbirds activity, as they need daylight in order to find food after a long dark night.

With fresh leaves on all of the deciduous shrubs and trees, it may take a while to see quickly moving birds. Listening for their songs is a way to zero in on likely areas of vegetation to watch. The yellow-breasted chat is usually hard to see, as it stays hidden deep inside tangled shrubs. During breeding season we have a chance to watch chats out in the open. The males need to establish and defend territories by perching at places and loudly vocalizing.

Some species, like western tanagers and calliope hummingbirds use our leafy canyons as re-fueling pit-stops before continuing to their breeding destinations in higher elevation forests in the Cascades or farther north. Our region is part of the “western U.S. hummingbird highway, “connecting wintering grounds in the mountains of western Mexico with summer forest breeding areas as far north as Alaska and Canada. The early blooms in the shrub-steppe provide nectar and insects as fuel for rufous, black-chinned, and calliope hummingbirds moving through central Washington.

Birding along the road in Number Two Canyon allows viewers to see and hear birds that nest in upland shrub-steppe that rises above the shrubby ravine bottoms. Western meadowlark males are active singers with a recognizable melody to their song. There are many free internet resources for learning birdsong (See bibliography), but being outside watching a bird singing is often the best way to cement the song into your brain.

Be sure to take a pencil and notebook with you to the field, so you can make quick sketches of an unknown bird’s body shape and patterns of light and dark. And, snap a photos with your phone: even low quality photos when viewed on a larger computer screen at home, can show you key identification characters. For example, the pattern of light and dark, along with the white-tipped undertail and full dark hood on the head will guide your research using a book, app, or internet tool.

North Central Washington Audubon Society’s webpage has a detailed list of good places to see birds in our region. Best of all, being outside surrounded by birdsong and flashes of color create a mini-adventure that brings a smile to your face and a feeling of calm and well-being to your soul. I hope to see you out birding in Wenatchee’s shrubby canyons!