Tweeters,

What a day!

Twenty straight hours of birding in Okanogan County on Sunday, 22 May netted
159 species of birds including 10 owls. Andy Stepniewski, Mike Carmody, and I
began at midnight at Beth Lake which is about 20 miles east of Oroville and
birded our way down and across the Okanogan Valley through Oroville and on to
Champney Slough, Loomis, Simlahekin Valley, Conconully, Okanogan, Colville
Plateau, and Okanogan River mouth. Then back north through Tonasket, Havillah,
Chesaw, Lost, Muskrat and Teal Lakes, and then back to Oroville.

I'll write more details later when I get the entire list with times and places
and species compiled.

The number owls was the highlight of the trip. The night started off poorly
with only a few Saw-whets calling in the stillness around Beth Lake. Two miles
west we found 3 Flammulated owls in two placescalling from the steep forested
hillsides. Then on down the hill towards Chesaw (2 miles east of town)where a
distant Long-eared called from across a large field and a Screech Owl bounced
his ball from a small cottonwood grove. An hour later a Barred Owl responded to
Andy's first "who-cooks-for-you?" call. Then about two hours later after
racing west across the Okanogan Valley a single Long-eared and many Saw-whets
were found calling along the Similkameen River 1 mile south of the small "town"
of Nighthawk. By now dawn was beginning and passerines were beginning to sing,
first Gray Catbirds and Redwingers. At about 8am A single Pygmy Owl called
from a draw a few miles south of Blue Lake in the Simlahekin Valley. Several
hours later, Mike Spotted a single Burrowing Owl on a fence post as we sped
past on the first terrace above the Monse bridge on the Wakefield-Cameron Lake
Road on the southern Colville Plateau.

By late afternoon we were looking for Great Grays near Mt. Bonaparte. We were
not treated by views of these beautiful birds but heard them (it?) hoot twice.
Racing back down the mountain, we found 2 pairs of Short-eared's bouncing
along at dusk over the "virgin" grasslands. We watched as one pair harassed a
Red-tailed Hawk that was apparently near the owls' nest. One of the owls
repeatedly strafed the perched RTH as it sat on a large rock. Eventually the
hawk flew away with one owl in pursuit.

Oh, and Great-horned Owls were heard at many of our stops.

Owl Species Number observed

Flammulated 6+ (stopped counting)
Western Screech 1
Great Horned 5+ (stopped counting)
Northern Pygmy 1
Burrowing 1
Barred 2
Great Gray 1
Long-eared 2
Short-eared 4
Northern Saw-whet 8+ (stopped counting)

Scott Ray
SCRAY at DELPHI.COM