Barry,

Great account! I was happy to hear the news from your expedition. Isn't
that a great part of the world? Montana and the prairie provinces are sure
high on my list of places to go visit again.

By the way, your welcome on my early Sunday Yakima Training Center
migration counts. I usually leave about 0430, so you would be welcome to
"low-impact" camp (with a sleeping bag) here Saturday night.

Hope to see ya soon.

Andy

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> From: Barry Levine <levineb at belnet.bellevue.k12.wa.us>
> To: Birdchat listing <BIRDCHAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
> Cc: Tweeters <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Sparrow Tour from Seattle-E. Montana
> Date: Thursday, July 31, 1997 1:56 PM
>
> On a trip (7/4-14) from Seattle to Montana, I was lucky enough to see 15
> sparrow species. It was extremely gratifying to see some of these birds
> on the edge of their habitat, while still in breeding plumage.Much thanks

> must go to Andy Stepniewski and Denny Granstrand from Eastern Washington
> and Ted Nordhagen in Eastern Montana. These folks as well as being
> fabulous birders, were also fabulous company. They just don't come any
> better than these individuals.
> I left Seattle at 3:30 AM to meet up with Andy and Denny in Wapato,Wa. I
> was interested in seeing Grasshopper Sparrows,Bobolinks,Wilson's
> Phalarope's and Gray Flycatcher's. We were fortunate to easily see all
> those birds,plus see Black-throated Sparrows. Andy helped me to lay out
> the rest ofthe trip with excellently detailed instructions on where to
> locate the other sought after species.
> The next day took me through Spokane where I missed seeing Clay-colored
> Sparrows, to Missoula where I saw Cordilleran Flycatchers. From there I
> chased a tip from Terry Toppens about an Eastern Screech-Owl in Billings.

> Unfortunately the bird had fledged its young and had recently left the
> area. So I headed to Harlowton to look for McCown's Longspurs, Upland
> Sandpipers, and Mountain Plovers. I was lucky enough to get great looks
at
> the first two species. The plovers weren't seen out of the spot north of
> Two Dot.
> On my way to Bedouin, I stopped at C.M. Russell to look for Least
Flycatchers
> The mosquitos there were about as bad as any place I have been. Luckily,
I
> was able to spot the flycatcher pretty quickly. Two more Upland
> Sandpipers were spotted on the road north to Bedouin and the next day at
> the reserve was a very magical one. Over 70 birds were spotted with the
> highlights being:Sprague's Pipit,Clay-colored Sparrows, Baird's
> Sparrows,Chestnut-collared Longspurs and White-faced Ibis. A pipit nest
> was found with 2 blue eggs sitting in the tunnel like cavity in the
> grass. It was an extraordinary experience.
> I returned to the northern side of C.M.Russell and saw Field Sparrows
> and a quite a few interesting birds including a
> Brown Thrasher. From there I headed toward the north-east corner of
> Montana hoping to see the following:
> LeConte's and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows
> Piping Plover
> Yellow Rail
> Sedge Wren
> All were surprisingly easy to find except for the rail which was heard
> only. This area was rich in shorebirds as well. It seemed to be an oasis
> for migratory birds. I looked for Black-billed Cuckoo on my way south to
> Hwy 2, but to no avail. A beautiful Orchard Oriole was notable.
> After spending a great day in north-eastern tip of Montana, I was ready
to
> proceed to Glacier National park to look for White-tailed Ptarmigan and
> Rosy Finches. The drive across Northern Montana seemed endless, but as
> one approaches Glacier National Park one can't help but be awed by the
> beauty of the area. Within 20 minutes of entering the park I saw a
> grizzly a couple of miles from my camp. I headed to the Intrepretive
> Center and hiked up to the lookout over the lake. I would end up taking
> this hike twice more without any luck finding Rosy Finches. It appeared
> the same would be true for Ptarmigan as well. On my last trip up, I saw a

> ptarmigan that was extremely well hidden in the rocks. Not the perfect
> out in the open look I was hopeful of, but a just reward for all the
> hiking through the snow fields that I had done.
> One more stop on the way back that was noteworthy was Bison National
> Park. Looking at these mammoth animals was a great way to end my time in
> Montana (an amazing and wonderful state).
> Here's a list of the sparrows and other notable sitings:
> Western Grebes (Doing their mating dance)
> White-faced Ibis
> Yellow Rail (Heard Only)*
> Piping Plover
> Wilson's Phalarope *
> Red-necked Phalarope
> Upland Sandpiper *
> White-tailed Ptarmigan *
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
> Gray Flycatcher *
> Least Flycatcher *
> Cordilleran Flycatcher *
> Sedge Wren *
> Sprague's Pipit *
> Red-eyed Vireo (feeding a Cowbird chick)
> Grasshopper Sparrow *
> Baird's Sparrow *
> Le Conte's Sparrow *
> Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow *
> Vesper Sparrow
> Savannah Sparrow
> Song Sparrow
> Lark Sparrow
> Black-throated Sparrow
> Field Sparrow *
> Chipping Sparrow
> Clay-colored Sparrow *
> Brewer's Sparrow
> White-crowned Sparrow
> Fox Sparrow
> Chestnut-collared Longspur
> McCown's Longspur
> Bobolink *
> Orchard Oriole
>