Windy Kittitas

On the last Thursday evening in May 2026, I got in the van and drove over Snoqualmie Pass to camp out at the Wanapum Campground - part of the Gingko Petrified Forest State Park. I was on my way to the 61st annual Wenas Audubon Campout weekend and wanted to spend an extra day birding on the Columbia Pleateau. High winds and thunderstorms were in the forecast. I didn’t think too much of the weather as it is ALWAYS windy at Wanapum Dam campground. In fact, I had almost sworn it off after a particularly windy night there last spring when I didn’t get much sleep as the van was rocking and rolling. I had a few birds to try and get in the area, so I decided to chance the weather.

As I got to Ellensburg area, as usual, the winds picked up. The van swayed along I-90. Passing semi trucks can be a white-knuckle affair. Upon exiting the freeway just before the Vantage Bridge to traverse south along the Huntzinger Road, I made a beeline to Getty’s Cove to try and find a Lesser Nighthawk which had been seen by a few people the previous day or two - and a Magnolia Warbler which had been seen two days previously. As I pulled into the empty parking area, I noticed the trees in the now-abandoned campground and a public access day-use area owned by the PUD were really blowing. Still, I got out of the van and walked around. Every so often, I could hear some birds! But, mostly, it was the wind whipping through the trees. After about 30 mins. of fruitlessly trying for birds, I drove back up the road and to the campground.

I checked in to my campsite via paper registration deposited into the fee box (I haven’t had an in-person check-in at a WA State park in quite some time!) and found my way to lovely campsite #10, perched just over the mighty Columbia. After getting my things settled in, a beautiful and extraordinarily powerful thunderstorm cell system rolled through just on the other side of the river over the Saddle Mountains. It was an incredible site to see! Yes, it was extremely windy where I was, but I was safe enough to be able to walk around outside my van area and taking pictures of the lightning storm and beautiful clouds - which were all cotton candy in the setting sunlight.

It was actually really interesting to be able to sit in my van with the side door open relaxing while enjoying a Manhattan as this storm system moved N-NE just across the river from me. What an experience!

The next day, I woke up to the loud songs of American Robins singing. I decided to get up before sunrise, to walk around and take some iPhone photos. What a gorgeous morning it was. And - the weather was as calm as can be! You could life up a blade of grass off the ground, drop it, and it would fall straight down. I’ve never seen it so calm there.

Columbia River at sunrise - Saturday, May 30, 2026 - from Wanapum Campground.

After some photos and walking around the campground looking at - and listening to - birds, I packed up and drove back down to Getty’s Cove. There was no Lesser Nighthawk nor Magnolia Warbler. There were plenty of other wonderful birds to see and hear and observe, including a beautiful American Kestrel who had just caught a rodent and was eating it on a tree above me.

Female American Kestrel enjoying breakfast - Getty’s Cove.

After a couple hours or so at Getty’s Cove, I decided to driver over the Columbia River and explore Grant County a bit. There was a supposed Ferruginous Hawk nesting site which someone had given me the coordinates back in mid-March. Ever since, I’ve wanted to check it out. Since I was in “the area” (about an hour away), I decided to go for it. I drove down the Sentinel Cliffs and down into the Hanford Reach area before turning off the main road to drive all the way to the Hanford Nuclear Site! I didn’t realize that’s where the GPS coordinates would take me - but sure enough, perched high on a massive electrical transmission tower, there as an enormous stick nest with a large buteo with a completely white head sticking its head out of the nest. I got out of the van and quietly walked behind the van to observe it. Ferruginous Hawks are very skittish to people, so I was careful to try and not distrub it. It was still so far away, and I didn’t want to take any chances. I got out the scope and propped myself up behind the open van door to observe the lovely hawk. I noticed the snowy white head and breast. Its mantle was brown, though at that distance I couldn’t tell whether it showed the rich rufous tones Ferruginous Hawks are known for. It really was a big bird. I knew it wasn’t a Bald Eagle because of the proportions and because a nesting Bald Eagle would have been rather unexpected in that stretch of the sage steppe nor a Red-Tailed Hawk (they have darker heads and are not as big). Over its large gaping bill, It kept staring down at me, I could tell even from the great distance through the scope. It then started preening and calling out. It was a very high-pitched call. I hadn’t head that type of call before, so I didn’t know if it was an adult or a recently-fledged young one. Every few moments it would shift position on the nest and look out over the sagebrush flats. And, then it took off. I was going through some photos of the Ferruginous Hawk on my phone to see if I could tell if it was an adult or a recently-fledged young and by the time my eyes got off the phone and back into the scope, it had had flown. I searched for it on other electrical towers and I couldn’t see it flying around - but I heard it. So, I put the scope back in the van and I drove over to Yakima County and up into the Cascades to check out the Wenas Campout.

What a wonderful start to the weekend!