- RBA

* northern Idaho / eastern Washington / northeastern Oregon
* as above
* January 19, 2001
* IDWA0101.19

- birds mentioned

Yellow-billed Loon
Gyrfalcon
Prairie Falcon
Snowy Owl
Tri-colored Blackbird
American Tree Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting

- transcript

hotline: northern Idaho / eastern Washington / northeastern Oregon
Date: January 19, 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, Jan 19 (2001). This hotline,
sponsored by Palouse Audubon, is updated every Friday evening. 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 GYRFALCON was in Douglas Co WA on Sat Jan 13 according to Theresa Mathis
and Teri Pieper. The bird was along Road L between US 2 and WA 172 northwest
of Coulee City. Road L runs parallel to WA 17, about 6 miles west of WA 17.
WA DeLorme 85, BC on the center crease.

Two or four TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS were seen near Othello, Adams Co WA on Thu
Jan 11 by Bob Flores and again on Jan 13 by Craig and Judy Corder. The birds
were along WA 26 near its intersection with Anston Road. The tricolors are
forging in an apple orchard with a large group of European Starlings and
Red-winged Blackbirds. The forging flock is about 500 in size and is easy to
detect. This area is only a few miles out of Othello. WA DeLorme 53, B-6.

A flock of 150 GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES were in Douglas Co WA along US 2
milemarker 183 on Sat Jan 13. In the same area were 7 SNOW BUNTINGS in a
flock of Horned Larks, according to Randy Hill and Bob Flores.
A SNOWY OWL was just east of Davenport Lincoln Co WA according to Fran
Haywood. The bird was south of US 2 along Morrison Road at the intersection
with Ziemer Road and west of Gravelles Road. It has been seen on orange farm
equipment on the north side of Morrison and also sitting on the ridge line
on the south side of Morrison. WA Delorme 87, D-8. Many of the road names in
the DeLorme are now inaccurate because of renaming for 911, but Morrison was
formerly a stretch of Detour Road.

Fran also reports SNOW BUNTINGS along Detour Road just east of that location
and also along the Old Sunset Highway between Mondovi and Bald Ridge Road.
WA DeLorme 87, C-8. Also in the same vicinity are AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS.
Looks for the birds in a farm yard on Thorp Road just north of Espanola and
east of Stroup Road in Spokane Co WA. The mailbox reads W27308. The AMERICAN
TREE SPARROWS are in a mixed flock of other passerines and often respond to
pishing. WA DeLorme 88, D-2.

A HARRIS'S SPARROW is at the feeder of Roger Holland in Asotin Co WA
according to Carole Vande Voorde. Roger lives near the Chief Joseph Wildlife
Area on Green Gulch. Call Carole for details at 509-243-4388. WA Delorme 43,
D-8.
The rest of the sightings come from northeast Oregon near Joseph and
Enterprise, Wallowa Co. OR DeLorme 81, C-7.5 Eric Henze and Margaret LaFaive
found the following birds on Jan 13 and 14 unless otherwise stated.

One PRAIRIE FALCON was northeast of Joseph. A GYRFALCON was along Tucker
Downs Road which is about 5.5 miles east of Joseph on Jan 14 according to
Frank Conley. A HARRIS'S SPARROW and an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW were coming to
a feeder near the Enterprise Fish Hatchery at the Country Loft Bed and
Breakfast along Fish Hatchery Lane, just west of the fish hatchery wildlife
area.

On Sun Jan 14, leaving the Safeway in Enterprise and following Golf Course
Road, about 5.6 miles from the Safeway, they found a flock of about 150
HORNED LARKS and 100 SNOW BUNTING and another flock of 350 SNOW BUNTINGS.
Later that day, Frank Conley found 20 LAPLAND LONGSPURS in the same flocks.
A single LAPLAND LONGSPUR was along Jim Town Road just north of Lostine. To
get to the bird, turn north off OR 82 in Lostine on Jim Town and go about
1.5 miles to the railroad tracks. Cross them and go another mile to where
the bird was.

On Jan 15, they checked Wallowa Lake and found the YELLOW-BILLED LOON.

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