Yakkers,

Last evening while hiking my usual ridge trek to the crest of Rattlesnake
Ridge north of Wapato WA, I heard a "seep" call from a patch of two or three
sagebrush on the ridgecrest. I pished and a juvenile Brewer's Sparrow popped
up into plain view. It still had downy plumage about its head and nape.
After a couple minutes of spying on this delicately patterned creature, it
flew off to the southeast, parallel to the axis of the ridge. Brewer's
Sparrows, to my knowledge, do not breed on Rattlesnake Hills until one
reaches the Threetip Sagebrush habitats some distance to the east (about 15
miles). I speculated that this bird was already dispersing fron its breeding
site maybe west of here (in Threetip Sagebrush west of I-82 on Ahtanum
Ridge?).

In a few weeks, and continuing through at least early to mid-August, high
quality habitats of the shrub-steppe will be swarming with family groups of
Brewer's, Vesper, and Sage Sparrows. Lark Sparrows tend to keep to
themselves. Nearer the Cascades, or in more bushy habitats, expect Chipping
Sparrows. One can always dream of chancing on a Black-throated Sparrow (a
few are around this year), making close scrutiny of all sparrow flocks
worthwhile. Closely checking all sparrow flocks is also an exercise in
honing your identification skills.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net