\\\\-.___ /\___/\ ___.-////
<_/ | O O | \_>
|___V___|
This message is being forwarded to Tweeters (by Dan Victor) because the
original sender is *not* subscribed. Please copy the email address below
with any responses.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 19:51:31 -0700
From: Karen Fischer <merckdf at concord.televar.com>

Hi Tweeters,

Yesterday I set off on a Lewis & Clark adventure, hoping to follow the
Corps of Discovery's approximate route from the Walla Walla Delta to
Lewiston, Idaho. I also did a little birding . . . my most amazing
sighting was along the Touchet River on Touchet Road north of Touchet.
The Walla Walla County Public Works Department and some other good souls
have established a turnout and marker to tell motorist where Lewis &
Clark camped along the Touchet River. I was standing there looking
across at the river imagining what it must have been like nearly 200
years ago when I saw . . . turkeys!! I have to admit I thought I was
seeing things. I had never heard of wild turkeys in Washington state.
I got my field guide and there was no mistake, these guys could be
nothing but turkeys. I know they weren't someone's pets because there
were no fences, farms, or even fields very nearby. So I happily have
added turkeys to my life list.

This morning I took a long way home through the Snake River Canyon (one
Osprey, a couple of DC Cormorants) and drove up Steptoe Butte. It was
shrouded in fog, but on the way down I saw a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Later
on Highway 23 between Ewan and Lamont (tiny towns, but they really do
exist), I came upon five or six Burrowing Owls perched on fences. When
I stopped and backed up the car a few of them flew away but there were
two who remained to fix me with their unnerving stares! They were
amazingly cute. Beyond the fence I could see several other owls flying
around, so that must have been where they had their burrows.

When I got home to Othello, my sister and I went out to Dodson Road and
saw many Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, an American Bittern, and even
a Pied-Billed Grebe. We were treated to a DC Cormorant wrestling with a
fish which he finally managed to swallow. Those Cormorants are full of
personality, if you ask me.

I had a great weekend birding & Lewis & Clarking . . . hopefully my next
outing will be as successful!

Cheryl Essary, Othello, WA