- RBA

* northern Idaho / eastern Washington / northeastern Oregon
* as above
* December 21, 2001
* IDWA0112.21

- birds mentioned

Pacific Loon
Yellow-billed Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Black-crowned Night-heron
Trumpeter Swan
Ross's Goose
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Prairie Falcon
Snowy Owl
Barred Owl
Blue Jay
Marsh Wren
Yellow-throated Warbler
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

- transcript

hotline: northern Idaho / eastern Washington / northeastern Oregon
Date: December 21, 2001
Phone: (208) 882-6195
Compiler: Kas Dumroese
Transcriber: Kas Dumroese - dumroese at iglide.net

This is Kas Dumroese with the Northern Idaho / Eastern Washington /
Northeastern Oregon bird hotline for Friday, Dec 21 (2001). This hotline,
sponsored by Palouse Audubon, is updated every Friday evening. Transcripts
of this RBA and membership info are available on-line at
http://www.palouseaudubon.org

If you wish to bypass this recording and simply leave a message for me,
including the date of your sighting and the DeLorme atlas page numbers and
coordinates if you have them, push the star button on your telephone now.
Otherwise wait for the beep at the end of the tape. Please give me good
directions, your fellow birdwatchers will appreciate it.

A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER is being seen near Twisp, Okanogan Co WA It was
seen this morning Fri 21 Dec. To get there, take WA 153 north from Twisp,
then cross the Twisp River and make a left on Burger. Go to the 90-degree
turn, turn right, and go to the 2nd house on the left. The bird is visiting
a feeder stocked with suet and old apples, and is apparently only observed
in the earlier half of the morning. Thanks to Andy Stepniewski for
forwarding that info along. WA DeLorme 99, B-8.

A YELLOW-BILLED LOON is at Oden Bay in Pend Oreille Lake near Sandpoint,
Bonner Co ID according to Earl Chapin. The bird has been present for about a
month and is seen from Sunnyside Road. To get there from the north end of
Sandpoint, take ID 200 toward Montana, at milepost 35 turn south onto
Sunnyside at the Sportsman Access sign. ID DeLorme 62, BC-3 (Sunnyside heads
south from Culver on the map). A better map and directions are in A Birders'
Guide to Idaho p 33-35.

Two PACIFIC LOONS were in Kootenai Co ID on 11 Dec according to Lisa Hardy.
One was on Cave Lake along Chain Lakes which is along ID 3 between Harrison
and Cataldo and another was seen at Harrison, Kootenai Co ID. Check for the
Harrison loon from town as well as from Harlow Point Road, the first road
heading west from ID 97 north of Harrison after you cross the Coeur d'Alene
River. ID DeLorme 60, BC-1.5

A SNOWY OWL south of Spokane WA-I had no new reports this week but is
probably still present. The bird is south of the south hill. To get to it
from I-90, take the Freya exit in Spokane. Take Freya south to the Palouse
Hwy (about 3 miles or so). It may be marked South Palouse Hwy at that point.
Turn left, south, and follow the Palouse Hwy for about 3 miles. At South
Baltimore Road (Hangman Creek Golf Course) you start downhill. As you emerge
from the pines near the bottom of the hill there will be mown fields. On the
left will be lots for sale with some large new homes. The dirt road at the
bottom is Hoffman Lane (private). This was the original location but now the
bird is residing nearby along Willow Springs Road according to Ron Dexter
and Roger Woodruff. WA DeLorme 89, D-5.

A pair of TRUMPETER SWANS were in the Wolf Lodge-Beauty Bay area of Coeur
d'Alene Lake in Kootenai Co ID on 16 and 17 Dec according to Corinne Camer
and Lisa Hardy. On the 17th, the birds were seen from ID 97 where Beauty
Creek discharges into Beauty Bay. Take I-90 west from Coeur d'Alene to exit
22 and head south on ID 97. You drive immediately along Wolf Lodge Bay. ID
DeLorme 60, B-2.

A juv WHITE-WINGED SCOTER was in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai Co ID near the
mouth of the Spokane River on Coeur d'Alene Lake on 15 Dec according to Kris
Buchler and Stephen Lindsay. The bird was easily seen from the parking lot
of Cedar's Restaurant. At that time it was in the canal behind the
restaurant, among the boat slips. ID DeLorme 60, B-1.

A SURF SCOTER was on Pend Oreille Lake at Bayview Kootenai Co ID on 15 Dec
according to Cory English. The bird was seen around the docks. Thanks to
Shirley Sturts for forwarding that info. ID DeLorme 60, right at the top of
the page at 2.

A BLUE JAY is a regular visitor at feeders in Moscow, Latah Co ID. For the
past month the bird has been visiting Laila Carson at 712 Tobiska Dr, a
short street going north off of F Street just west of Hayes. This is in the
"Valley of the Jays" were they are historically seen during winter.

Also unusual for Moscow are 3 MARSH WRENS in the man-made wetlands west of
the sewage treatment plant at the Idaho-Washington state line. A nice
pull-out on the south side of the hwy can be used for parking. Look for the
birds where ever there's open water, including Paradise Creek. The birds
were seen on 15 Dec by several observers.

A flock of 60 or so GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES are roosting in barns about 6
miles south of Moscow, Latah Co ID. Dave Woodall and I found the birds on 15
Dec. The barns are the first you encounter east of US 95 along Martinson
Road, the first road south of the Uniontown cut-off. Please respect the
privacy of the landowners; the birds are easily seen from the road, although
a scope might be helpful, from about 3 pm until dark. ID DeLorme 58, C-1.

A young ROSS'S GOOSE is at Wenatchee Confluence State Park, Wenatchee,
Chelan Co WA. The bird was seen on the lawn just west of the campground on
15 Dec by Dave Beaudette and on the 16th by Ken Knittle. WA DeLorme 67, A-6.

A PRAIRIE FALCON was seen 15 Dec at the Staley railroad siding north of
Chambers, Whitman Co WA according to Tom Weber. Chambers is about 5 miles
south of Pullman along US 195. WA DeLorme 57, C-7.

A BARRED OWL is near Walla Walla, Walla Walla Co WA according to Mike and
MerryLynn Denny. They report seeing the bird on 9 Dec. This fourth county
record is in the woody riparian area below the dam in Bennington Park on the
east end of Walla Walla.

Five BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were seen in Lewiston, Nez Perce Co ID on 15
Dec according to Keith Carlson. Location is Snake River levee ponds
immediately north and south of the jct of the US 12 bypass and Snake River
Avenue on the Lewiston side of the "Blue Bridge" aka, the US 12 bridge.
Based on plumages of birds seen the past couple of weeks, at least 7
individuals are present somewhere in the levee pond system. Keith also
reports seeing on 15 and/or 17 Dec, in and around the confluence of the
rivers, at least one of each of these grebe species: RED-NECKED,
PIED-BILLED, EARED, HORNED, and WESTERN GREBE. ID DeLorme 54, A-1; WA
DeLorme 43, A-8.

If you have any questions about birds on the report, call me before 9 pm at
208.883.0943. If you see any of the birds mentioned in this report, be sure
to let me know.

Good birding.

Kas