Bob's Gone Birding: Anaconda to Spokane: Last Days in the Northwest

Georgetown Lake near Anaconda, Montana

The final two days of my trip are easily summarized. I had heard that Great Gray Owls could be found at Georgetown Lake near Anaconda, Montana. I was in Missoula, so the lake was about an hour away. But that night I had to be in Spokane, Washington, about 300 miles to the west of the lake. That meant that with birding miles added in, I would have about a 500 mile drive. Still, Great Gray Owl was really high on my wish list, so I headed east on I-90 and south on MT 1. I think I crossed Flint Creek a dozen times along the way, passing through a series of tiny towns and reaching the lake while the morning was still young.

Red-necked Grebes on a Family Outing

I began a counterclockwise circle of the lake and stopped at every picnic area and campground and turned in every side road I could find. The birding was really good. I tallied Mountain and Black-capped Chickadees, Osprey, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Bald Eagle, Ring-billed Gull, Mountain Bluebird and a sparrow I really tried to turn into something special but it was most likely a Chipping Sparrow. I got really good looks at a lot of Red-necked Grebes including one family group. I watched the two parents dive repeatedly, come up with food, and feed a couple of very hungry chicks. I added Yellow Warblers along the east side, ending the morning with about 22 species, but no owls. Georgetown Lake turned out to be a gorgeous site with some nice birding spots, but I dipped on my target bird.

I headed back north on Route 1 intending to have lunch in Philipsburg, but the little town was hosting some kind of antique car festival. The streets were packed with revelers and the only restaurant I could find was filled to overflowing. I continued up the road, eventually landing in Drummond at Parker's Family Restaurant which advertised 135 different types of burgers. I waded through a binder with the burger descriptions, picked something with roasted red peppers, and ordered it. It was fantastic! I ate a huge meal, left a nice tip for the friendly waitress, and bought some soft-serve ice cream at a stand next door. When it was gone, I climbed back in the car and drove to Spokane. I had one day left on my trip, and I hoped to make it a good one.

Immature Dark-eyed Junco

My final destination for the trip was Mount Spokane State Park in Mead, about an hour's drive from my hotel. I got there before 9:00 AM the next morning. At the base of the mountain I birded the edge of a stream, hoping for MacGillivray's Warbler that is supposed to breed in the park. I found Song and Chipping Sparrows and a Warbling Vireo, but no MacGillivray's. Along one trail I saw a juvenile bird that stumped me for a bit. I did my best to turn it into something different, I believe it's a Dark-eyed Junco. Farther up the mountain I found a nice spot where I watched Red-breasted Nuthatches play in the pines. There was one bird that I followed for a little while until I finally got a nice look at a Chestnut-backed Chickadee! At a picnic area I walked over to a place where I had seen some downed trees and bare snags. I hoped for some woodpeckers, but I found none. Then a little motion caught my eye. It was a wren crawling around the ground among some dead branches. It had a tiny tail and an all-dark belly, just like our Winter Wren, but here it was something different - a Pacific Wren, and a lifer, the sixth and last of the trip.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Finally, I reached the summit. I saw another Red-breasted Nuthatch, a few Black-capped Chickadees, a Gray Catbird, a couple of Common Ravens and a bird that confused me for a long time but that I suspect was a juvenile Chipping sparrow. I visited a nice stone cabin built by the CCC, ate a picnic lunch from the back of the SUV and enjoyed a breath-taking view of the valley below. With nothing left to do, I decided it was time to call it a trip and get back to the hotel to repack for the flight home.

There were a lot of obstacles and surprises on this trip. On the other hand, many of them turned into good opportunities. The fires in Glacier altered that entire experience, but led me to stop at Nine-pipes and find my life Clark's Grebe. The need to purchase a one-day state park pass at Walmart dramatically delayed everything on the first day, but led me to be in the Fields Spring parking lot at the precise moment my life Red-naped Sapsucker came down to eye-level to feed. I was frustrated at times, but in retrospect, it was actually a very successful trip. To be sure, I missed a number of my target birds including MacGillivray's Warbler and Spotted Owl. But I had 104 species including six lifers. If I had known those numbers going into the trip, I would have gladly taken them.

More importantly, I saw some extraordinary places, met some terrific people, and came away with a rich appreciation for a part of our country I had never seen. And that alone made the trip worth while.