Hi all. The following is a post I did for Compuserve's Reptile
and Amphibian Forum, of which I am a co-host. It is heavily herp
related, but I thought some of you might enjoy perusing.

I have spent nine of the last seventeen days in eastern
Washington checking on my northern Pacific rattlesnake
dens, discovering new dens, encountering other herps,
and finding many interesting and exciting birds, as well
as enjoying some relatively nice weather.
My primary den has not been paying off this year the way
it should. Only one snake (unless noted otherwise, snake
denotes rattlesnake) has been present every day, another
has been present two of the days, and a single den mate,
a yellow-bellied racer, has been seen once.
Another den was discovered this year about four miles from
the aforementioned den, and this particular site has proved
very rewarding. Initially, only one snake was seen at this site,
but by this past Tues., thirteen snakes (one Great Basin
gophersnake) were found basking or nestled in deep crevices.
This den overlooks a small pond in which a healthy population
of western painted turtles and Pacific treefrogs thrive. Some
of the turtles were observed actively swimming in a water
temperature of 46F! Cold-blooded indeed!:-) Also found at
this den is a good number of Skilton skinks and side-blotched
lizards. Mallards, scaup, and coots regularly paddle around the
perimeter, and the cliffs and skies are filled with tree swallows,
red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, and American kestrels.
Other inhabitants of the rock outcrops (in which a third, smaller,
den was eventually stumbled upon) include yellow-bellied marmots,
Columbia ground squirrels, and long-eared owls (which I was
extremely overjoyed to discover!).
On the 11th, two active osprey nests were discovered. It will be
interesting to watch these over the next few months and, hopefully,
eventually see little ospreys.
Following is a list of most of the wildlife that I have observed over
the past couple of weeks:
--Herps: wandering gartersnake (2), northwestern gartersnake,
Great Basin gophersnake (3), western yellow-bellied racer (2),
northern Pacific rattlesnake (15), rubber boa (freshly dead on
road), side-blotched lizard (many), Skilton skink (3), sagebrush
lizard, western painted turtle (many), Pacific treefrog (saw and
heard many).
--Birds included: common loon (gorgeous!), pied-billed grebe
(many), horned grebe (2), western grebe (many), American
white pelican (a soaring flock of about 15), double-crested
cormorant (many), great blue heron (many), turkey vulture (6),
Canada goose (hundreds), green winged teal (many), mallard
(hundreds), northern pintail (2 pairs), cinnamon teal (three pairs),
northern shoveler (2 pairs), gadwall (many), American wigeon
(many), redhead (many), lesser scaup (many), common goldeneye
(many), Barrow's goldeneye (many), bufflehead (hundreds),
common merganser (many), osprey (2 pairs, plus two individuals),
bald eagle (2), northern harrier (many), red-tailed hawk (many),
American kestrel (many), chukar (2 pairs), ring-necked pheasant
(many), American coot (hundreds), killdeer (3), black-necked stilt (4),
greater yellowlegs, long-billed curlew (5), common snipe (heard
one), various gulls (hundreds), rock dove (many), mourning dove
(2), great horned owl (yesss!), long-eared owl (double yesss!!),
belted kingfisher (3), northern flicker (many), Say's phoebe (4),
northern shrike, Steller's jay (2), black-billed magpie (many),
American/northwestern crow (hundreds), common raven (many),
tree swallows (hundreds), black-capped chickadee (many),
mountain bluebird, American robin (many), European starling
(many), yellow-rumped (Audubon's) warbler (3), spotted towhee (2),
sage sparrow (2), song sparrow (many), white-crowned sparrow
(many), dark-eyed junco (many), red-winged blackbird (hundreds),
western meadowlark (many), house finch (many), American
goldfinch (4), house sparrow (many).
Mammals included: yellow-bellied marmot, Columbia ground
squirrel, Rocky Mountain elk, coyote.
I'll hopefully be making one more trip east this coming Monday,
and then I'm off to the southeastern U.S. for two and a half
weeks to search for eastern diamondback, canebrake, and
pigmy rattlesnakes, as well as other herps and birds.
Thanks for reading.
Steve Z