Just got back Sunday from the Spences Bridge and Murray Creek Watershed
area in British Columbia. Although primarily fishing, I had a chance to
do some birding. On the Thompson River there were osprey, hairy
woodpeckers, yellow-rumped warbler, and song sparrows. In the back
country of the Murray Creek watershed there were large mixed flocks of
golden-crowned kinglets, mountain chickadees, and dark-eyed juncos. I
got a chance to watch 2 mountain chickadees take turns sharing a mud
puddle bath. Even though I kept a sharp eye out, there didn't seem to
be a lot else around. I was told there usually are a bunch of blue
grouse and chukar around, but I didn't see any. The locals said to come
back in the summer to see all the bright, colorful tropical birds, some
that look like parakeets or small parrots. Also, a couple times a year,
they said Woody Woodpecker shows up, but they weren't sure what its real
name was and didn't care, as they liked referring to it as that.

Franny Drobny
Seattle, Washington
fdrobny at cairncross.com