I was out enjoying some of that "horizontal snow" this morning in the
Washtucna to Benge area of Adams County. When it let up and finally quit I
spent a good while returning home looking at flocks of Horned Larks, which
become very easy to see with 3-6" of snow on the ground. I probably looked
at more than 900 birds and found only one flock that I could find Lapland
Longspurs, a group of 15-20 just east of SR 261 along the Ralston-Benge Road
(11 miles south of Ritzville). I could not find any Snow buntings. I also
saw 17 Northern Harriers and 8 Northern Rough-legged Hawks along the roads
in various locations. The harriers were instrumental in flushing lark
flocks to help locate the longspurs, which have a different shape and flight
pattern. Also had Gray Partridge 8 miles north of Washtucna and 3 miles
west of Benge.

Randy Hill
Othello