Subject: A few good men--ah I mean birds
Date: Oct 26 00:39:27 1998
From: sanjer at televar.com - sanjer at televar.com


See what happens when you have been in the Marine Corps.

Today near Reardon we saw two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and about eight
GRAY PARTRIDGE.

Went to the Davenport Cemetery to check out the birds and it was really
dead. Oops (no pun intended) the only birds there were 6 RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCHES.
We ate our lunch there and enjoyed watching them busily go from one
conifer
to the next.

At Wilbur, in and near one small tree we saw--BROWN CREEPER, MOUNTAIN
CHICKADEES, DARK-EYED JUNCOS (Oregon), NORTHERN FLICKER (red-shafted),
and one VARIED THRUSH.

10 miles east of Grand Coulee we got a good look at a mature NORTHERN
GOSHAWK soaring directly overhead.

Two miles east of Grand Coulee we drove down into Spring Canyon
Campground
and looked for our old friend the GREAT-HORNED OWL. It wasn't at its
usual
Winter roost. As we started to leave Sandy said "LOOK right there! and
to our left about 20 feet away on a metal post right at eye level sat
the
GRHO. It let me take several photos, then it flew up into a Maple tree
and let me take some more photos with the beautiful fall colors in the
background. Of course with the poor lighting I had to set the camera at
f/4.0 so the leaves will be blurry. Hey Ruth--at least the background
will
not be blue. :-) I will have to go back when the sun is out.

Not a lot of species (26) It is not the quantity, but the quality that
Counts. Right?

Jerry and Sandy Converse
Grand Coulee, WA