I got out of the valley one day last week to do some birding in areas that really are ready for spring. We were hoping for a few winter specialties like Snowy Owls and Snow Buntings. We did see two very distant Snowy Owls in a field of green winter wheat with the last traces of snow still on it. But we dipped on the buntings. Other highlights included singing Sagebrush Sparrows in the coulee, a first of the season Mountain Bluebird, quite a good number of Rough-legged Hawks, three Golden Eagles and one sleepy Northern Saw-whet Owl. We were mostly in northern Douglas County but found the little owl on its regular roost near Bridgeport State Park in Okanogan County.
Moses Coulee, a result of the Ice Age Floods
It’s hard to imagine these columnar basalts were once lava flowing out of the ground.
Dutch Henry Falls
He barely opened one eye to look at us
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My dad preferred eastern Washington to the west side (Olympia); he loved geology and the physical sciences, and made sure the three of us got the basics. I too love geology, so these columnar basalt cliffs hold the same fascination.