Spring is arriving late in the Wenas area. It has been very wet and cold
there, and the Memorial Day weekend was no exception. It was cloudy,
cool-to-cold, and occasionally drizzling for most of the weekend.

There were very few birds present at elevation, but the lowlands were very,
very good.

There were no nutcrackers reported, and few crossbills, probably indicating
that last year's Ponderosa seed crop has not yet fully ripened.

There were no nighthawks, bats, or poorwills; cool nights mean few nocturnal
insects.

But the lowlands were full of warblers, with Wilson's, Yellow, Nashville, and
MacGillivray's all pretty common. Chats were seen at Hardy Canyon and at the
lake. Large numbers of Bullock's Oriole, and Warbling and Solitary Vireo were
fairly easily seen, as were Western Tanagers. Few flycatchers were around,
except for Western Wood-Pewee (everywhere), and several Duskys. There were
reports of Hammond's and Pacific-slope, but the numbers weren't high. There
were Red-naped Sapsuckers, Pygmy Nuthatches, and White-headed Woodpeckers in
the campground.

The campground was full of horse people (including one family who had set up
at the Larrison Tree earlier in the week and declined to move - reasonable,
since there were no signs indicating that the campground was reserved). Along
with the horses were an abundance of cowbirds. There was only a virtual
campfire, since Boise-Cascade has banned campfires, and an exception was not
granted.

Hazel Wolf was there on Saturday night, looking and sounding great. Next year
will be the Hazel Wolf Centenial Campout, to celebrate her 100th birthday.

Despite the cold and a few miscues, I didn't hear anybody complaining. I
think everyone enjoyed the campout and the birding.


== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland WA
== MJCT_Hobbs at msn.com