The Ice Age Floods and Columbia Basin Project have created some of the finest wildlife (and geology!) viewing in Washington. Dramatic cliffs, carved by the floods, provide both aesthetics and homes for bats and birds, and potholes (also formed by the floods) are filled with water from the Columbia Basin Project, hosting waterfowl by the tens of thousands. The Columbia Basin Project also brought farming to the desert, and sandhill cranes have learned to take advantage of the abundant food supply from leftover grain. Each spring, thousands of cranes visit, creating excellent opportunities for viewing.
We have our new Columbia NWR Bird Checklist to help you.