As one who was fortunate enough to see the Upland Sandpiper on its breeding
grounds in the deceased native prairies E of Spokane back in the early 80's
and in Bear Valley and Logan Valley in Oregon, I have a couple of comments
on Kelly's message.

First, I think it is probably a large overstatement to say that most of E
WA is potential habitat for this species. The Spokane prairies were a
rather specialized and unique habitat that is now lost to Spokane sprawl
and, perhaps even more destructive, to an overwhelming influx of
particularly loathesome exotic weeds. The devastation of this splendid
habitat over a single decade (early 80' to early 90's) was truly shocking
and impressed upon me the fact that noxious weeds can as big a threat to
native plants and animals as are the bulldozer or the bovine hoof. I, too,
would love to see this species "recovered" in WA, and I hope that someone
might know of some as yet hidden outpost where they might still lay a few
eggs on the beautiful, flowering prairie. Kelly, if you're interested, I
have a few fairly good color slides of what the habitat used to look
like...if any such habitat remains in WA it is probably somewhere on the
extreme eastern margins, such as around Chaney or in Asotin Co.

Second, I don't think one could really characterize this species as being
common in E Oregon -- the nesting sites are few, and most are vulnerable to
changes in agricultural practices, tourist development, weed invasions,
etc. I also think that the birds were always using those valleys, and it
was not until the 70's that there were enough active, knowledgeable birders
out in the field to realize that the birds were there -- I don't think that
the areas in Oregon were "colonized" at that time...

Anyway, it is a pity that WA has apparently lost this species -- it has
always been one of my very favorite birds and is a unique and highly
interesting species. Fortunately, it still has the arctic...

...Mark Egger