Tweeters & Twitchers: Katie and I attended the first annual Othello
Sandhill Crane Festival yesterday (sat. 28th). The weather was great but
cool. The $5 bus tour was well worth the cost to find out exactly where
to look for these big, beautiful birds.
We saw thousands of them feeding in the irrigated corn and wheat stubble
West of Othello. The Columbia NWR is a great birding hotspot in E.
Washington. We saw a couple of roughlegged hawks on the way to Othello
as well as the usual redtails and a possible prairie falcon.
There were many interesting exhibits at the festival headquarters:
Othello High School. Most of the exhibits were agency-type rather than
commercial-type displays.
If this event continues the commercial participation will surely
increase. I do not know how many people attended or toured on the buses.
We could not spend the entire day there but managed to take in the Duck
Identification, Raptor Rehab, and card-making programs. We also received
a map of the burrowing owl sites east of Othello.
The school cafeteria was open so that folks could purchase lunches.
This was the first year for this event and I hope it will be held each
year and grow to become one of the premiere birding events of E.
Washington. The t-shirt will probably become a collector's item. (?)
We highly recommend that other E. Washington Audubon groups get behind
this event and help to support it and make it a success in the years to
come.
Hans & Katie Krauss Spokane WA
IT'S BETTER TO BE A WING-NUT THAN A DEAD-BOLT
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