Hello Toby,
I would say that you a very lucky to find this Sharp-tailed Grouse also.I
been there on different occasion and did not seeing this birds.This is a
very wanted bird and on this spot you realy can see them good.I was fortune
to get few photos as there was feeding on the waterbirch what still got
lot's of buds at this time.Take care.

Ruth Sullivan
----- Original Message -----
From: <TA96SSDCM at aol.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2002 5:22 PM
Subject: YTW and Sharp-tailed Grouse (long)


> My wife and I went to Wenatchee for the weekend. I was hoping to be able
to
> get away and do some birding, if time permitted. I was excited to see both
> the YTW and the Sharp-tailed Grouse. I planned ahead! I E-mailed Patrick
for
> the directions to the STG and had copied the posts for the YTW location. I
> was just about to Issaquah when I looked at my wife with this terrible
> feeling that my notes were still on the kitchen counter, which she
confirmed,
> oh well. I was able to sneak away at 6:00 A.M. Sunday morning with our
> friends daughter for a day of birding and relying on my memory to get us
> there. Being 57, relying on your memory is probably not the best thing to
do
> when you are after rare birds. Reaching Bridgeport and not having a clue
> where to go, I stopped at the Texaco station and bought my fourth Delorme
for
> Washington. I think this has happened to me before! After studying the
map
> for a few minutes, I finally found Bridgeport Hill Road in small print off
of
> Denzelman Hill Road. Off we went, the first birds we encountered were 15
very
> large dark forms in the top of a tree in a farmers yard. Both of us were
> confused as to there identification. I had even suggested that maybe they
> were tires that the farmer had stung up as a joke! Being 7:30 A.M.
lighting
> was still scarce. Then one of the forms moved and bellowed. No mistaking
the
> sound of a Peacock! On we went, next we encountered Bohemian Waxwings and
a
> Northern Shrike, both good finds, but the main reason we were here was for
> the Grouse. After an hour and one half, I looked at the Delorme, this time
in
> bold print I found the correct Bridgeport Hill Road, about six miles away
> from the road we were on. We arrived at the proper location and were
rewarded
> with two Sharp-tailed Grouse. These grouse were disturbed by a hunter and
> flushed. I followed there flight south along Foster Creek until they
> disappeared over a hill. We drove the area that I thought they might have
> landed and we found a total of seven in the tops of approximately thirty
foot
> tall trees. We had great views, we left this area at 10:20 for Twisp.
> Arriving in Twisp, I was hoping I would find birders standing around
scoping
> out the YTW. No luck. We stopped at the grocery store, figuring everyone
in
> Twisp would know where the warbler was being seen, no luck again! Next
stop
> the Real Estate office. Met a very helpful women that had heard of the
> warbler. She got out the stack of last weeks newspapers trying to find the
> article, which she did. We first stopped at Dave Dunn's home (I did
remember
> his unit number) and watched his feeders, which are attracting, Common
> Redpolls, Pine Siskins, Goldfinches, Purple and House Finches mainly. Dave
> gave us exact directions to Richard Murray's home. As we pulled up to
> Richard's house, the YTW arrived, also. We had wonderful views for about
ten
> minutes. On the return to Wenatchee we counted 17 Bald Eagles along the
> Methow River from Twisp to Peteros. This trip turned out to be one of my
most
> memorable ever, thanks Patrick for your help, to Dave Dunn for being so
> gracious and to Richard Murray for letting us invade his privacy.
>
> Toby Andrews