Greetings,

On 16 April, 1.3 miles up Swakane Canyon there was a huge flock of
Gray-crowned Rosy Finches feeding at the steep grass hillside. I was able to
see them well through my spotting scope and they were the Hepburn's form. A
minimim estimate of the number would be 2500, although I am sure there were
many more than that. I didn't realize that these Rosy Finches were in
numbers like that around here so it was quite a surprise. Delorme Atlas page
83,D6.

Today, 17 April at Confluence State Park, 6 large flocks of geese were seen
headed up the Columbia River corridor. 5 of these flocks were close enough
to see markings on the birds. I came up with a total of 257 Greater
White-fronted Geese and 180 Lesser Canada Geese. I don't know if this is an
unusual year for them or whether they are that regular in occurrence at
Wenatchee.

Also at Confluence State Park today had 2 calling Long-billed Curlews in
flight. Looking at the Washington Birder checkist for Chelan County,
Long-billed Curlews are rare and not seen annualy in the county.

Dave Beaudette
Wenatchee
drtbrdr at earthlink.net