hotline: Northern Idaho, Eastern Washington
date: April 1, 1994
phone: (208) 882-6195
compiler: Kas Dumroese
transcriber: Stacy Peterson
petest at wwc.edu

transcript--***********

This is Kas Dumroese with the northern Idaho / eastern Washington
bird hotline for Friday, April 1, April Fool's Day (1994). If you wish
to by pass this recording and simply leave a message for me, including
the date of your sighting and the DeLorme atlas page number if you have
it, push the star button on your telephone now.

This hotline, sponsored by Palouse Audubon, is updated every Friday
sometime before the dinner hour. Bird trips are announced at the end of
the recording.

Birds of note reported this week include EURASIAN WIGEON, GLAUCAUS
GULL, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, RED-NECKED GREBE, and a GREATER WANDERING
VAGRANT.

On March 27, Dan Svingen reports two male EURASIAN WIGEONS in Lane
Marsh along Idaho 3 between St. Maries and Rose Lake, Idaho. Idaho
DeLorme p. 60, halfway between b as in buteo and c as in chickadee, 2,
shows a widespot known as Lane. Check the flooded areas for the birds.
Dan also reports the immature GLAUCAUS GULL is still at the Harrison,
Idaho marina. He also reports RED-NECKED GREBES and NORTHERN SHOVELERS
have returned to Thompson Lake in the Coeur d'Alene WMA just north of
Harrison. OSPREY are becoming more numerous and he saw his first
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW of the season.

Mark Crotteau saw WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS on Mt. Spokane on March 27.
Mt. Spokane is about 30 miles northeast of Spokane. See Washington
DeLorme p. 89, a-8.

The Canyon Birders have three trips planned for April. Tomorrow,
April 2, they will be birding along the Grande Rhonde River to Troy,
Oregon. It's a good trip to see deer, elk, mountain sheep and of course,
birds. Departure is from Swallows Park boat launch at 8 am. On Friday,
April 15, they plan to bird Peola Road, especially looking for bluebirds.
Half-day or whole-day trip. Bring a lunch if you plan to make a day of
it. Meet at Swallows Park at 8 am.

Also on Friday, April 22, they'll be making their annual spring
shorebird count for the Pacific Flyway Project. They plan to visit Mann
Lake, Alpowa Creek and others. Meet at Swallows at 8 am. If you have
any questions, please call Winnie Hepburn at (208) 843-5347.

Now, for information on that important GREATER WANDERING VAGRANT I
just saw the bird today, April first. This is a real treat to have in
our region. The Field Guide to Little-Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of
North America indicates this extremely rare species should be somewhere
in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa or Missouri this time of year. This is surely
Idaho's first state record and perhaps a first for the Pacific Northwest.
According to the field guide, finding this bird in the field is truly a
hit and miss proposition, and the best observation of this rare species
is made by looking at the illustration on page 59 of the field guide.
The bird's vocalization goes something like
----"mmmm-eeet-mi-n-ss-aint-lu-ee-lu-ee"---. Keep an eye out for this
rarity.

Good birding!