hi all

just a quick note to thank everyone who sent info for my trip east. i saw
some breathtaking scenery, enjoyed all the wildlife and just had a really
wonderful time.

one story about my trip. i was in the loup loup campground trying out my new
"toy" from the SAS nature shop. its this little red squeaky thing that i
thought would be good for pulling down all those tweetie birds from high in
the canopy. well there i am, all alone in the middle of nowhere spinning
this thing and probably making quite a racket compared to the normal
solitude of the place. suddenly, a very large and initially quite startling
barred owl comes charging in to see what all the squeaking is about. she
heads straight for me and at first i think shes going to test her talons on
my head. thankfully, she lands in a tree not more than 20 feet away, and we
observe each other for sometime. we do the stare-off and after a while she
seems to lose interest in me and starts looking elsewhere. a sapsucker
flies by and i have to decide whether to tear myself away from this gorgeous
owl or stay with her, and possibly miss one of my target birds. well, i
make the decision to chase the woodpecker and am rewarded with nice views
and great vocalizations of a female williamson's sapsucker. i make my way
back to the wet meadow where the owl was last perched, and believe it or
not, she's still sitting right there where i left her. we have another
little stare-off, her winning again. i go on along my way. what a great
place!!

i covered a lot of ground including robinson canyon, wenas area, colockum,
potholes, alta lake, colville indian reservation, dry falls, sun lakes,
moses lake, vantage, methow valley and , and, and. a lot of my trip was
spent on plants and geology. i birded a fair amount, but didn't do a real
"marathon" bird trip. total species of birds 113 with 3 lifers.

the camping was fantastic, the stars bright, night sounds loud yet
comforting. sleeping under the stars seems to have rejuvenated me and i
highly recommend getting out there and just enjoying "being"!

anyone wishing a full trip report, please contact me and i will email.

marissa j benavente
junebug at pol.net
seattle