Subject: BOBOLINKS, FLYCATCHERS, THRASHERS
Date: Jun 07 20:59:04 1998
From: Jerry & Sandy Converse - sanjer at televar.com


Yesterday morning we left for Spokane to combine a shopping and birding
trip. One of the first things we did was to purchase a Sony TCM 59V tape
recorder and a ATR55 Shotgun microphone. This is a really great setup
for recording birds that we can't ID on the spot.

After getting all of the money spending business out of the way, we
headed up to Cusick to find the BOBOLINK. There were several in the
fields and on the fence posts next to the highway just before we got
into Cusick. What a song they have. We tried out the mike. and were able
to record easly the Bobolink at a distance of about 150-200 feet. We
also saw some BLACK TERNS about 5 miles south of Cusick.

We drove back to Cheney and slept in the van. Sunday morning we birded
Turnbull NWR. While there we saw BLACK TERNS, and RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS.
I saw one that I could not see any red on the nap of the neck when it
was faceing directly away from me, but I am NOT calling it a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Guess why. ;-)

We also saw a WILLOW FLYCATCHER. We weren't positive on the ID until we
got back home and compared Sandy's recording of it with Peterson's CD.
Yaaa!

At Creston we went south to Swanson Lakes. There were several
BLACK-NECKED STILTS and they were dive bombing us! Then they would land
on the road and squat down and flutter their wings and them fly off.
This went on the whole time we were there. Ever tried to get pictures of
a bird coming at you about 50 miles per hour?

On the way back to Creston, just before where the gravel road turns into
blacktop, we ID'd a SAGE THRASER on top of some sage brush, of all
places. It was singing away. We also saw at the same location a
BREWER'S SPARROW and a VESPER SPARROW. Sandy got recordings of all three
and compared them when we got home. What fun!

Jerry and Sandy Converse
Grand Coulee, WA