Not long enough after the dark fowl flesh and the sweet potatoes in the high
plains hamlet of Creston we were back in the kitchen contemplating the meaning
of cream pie when some movement out the window caught my attention. A large
wren was bopping around the eaves of the garage. When I went out to study it
I immediately heard the characteristic call of the Canyon Wren over the thin
lisping of all the Bohemian Waxwings. It was checking out the cracks between
roof and eave on the house and disappearing in those large enough to allow
entry. After about fifteen minutes of frenetic activity it moved on.

I've never seen a Canyon Wren out of habitat before, there being no basalt
columns in this town. However, they are uncommonly found ten miles north and
south in the cliffs along the Columbia and in the larger coulees to the south.
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this kind of behavior. I
was also wondering if all the Canyon Wrens around here are resident or if
there is some movement from the northern and upper reaches.

On another note that may be of interest to some, a week before just before the
advent of the Big Wet a large flock of Rosy Finches visited me on the farm
north of Creston. They were so skittish they were hard to count but I
estimated between 200 and 300 in a tight flock fluttering over weeds and
field. They finally settled on the winter wheat, which seemed unusual. All
those I could identify were of the gray-headed form.

Mark Houston
Spokane/Creston, WA