Tweeters,

While on my usual Rattlesnake Hills (north of Wapato WA) hike, Monday (4
October) at 1830, I flushed a Common Poorwill as I walked past a rock on
the trail. It was on an broad, south-facing slope grown mostly to
introduced cheatgrass. I've done this hike many, many times and never
encountered a poorwill in an open situation such as this (usually I hear
them in the nearby rocky chasm). This led to me think this individual was a
migrant. Though a little on the late side, my latest fall record from this
slope is 30 October.

As I watched the poorwill, a dark and thick band of clouds hung to the west
over the Cascades, signalling the arrival of another Pacific system and
cooler weather. Will this bird make it to warmer, southern climes for the
winter?

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA