Hi Tweeters,

I made the trip to the southeast corner of Washington this past weekend to
try for the Great Gray Owls, Green-tailed Towhees and Cordilleran-type
Flycatchers.

After several passes through the area where the owls have been seen without
finding them, I concentrated on the towhees. Several were singing in the
spot about 9.8 miles from Highway 12 on Biscuit Ridge Road. About half a
mile further up the road I was able to get several photos of one
Green-tailed Towhee perched in a fir tree.

We tried several more times for the owls Saturday evening without success.
A small group of people saw one adult but it had flown just a minute or two
before we got there.

The flycatchers that the Sullivans reported at about 6.4 miles from Highway
24 along the Biscuit Ridge Road were silent the three times I stopped there.

Sunday morning I tried for the owls again and was able to see and photograph
two owlets and one adult. The adult was bringing breakfast in for the kids
when I saw it. They are incredible birds.

Sunday morning I talked to a man who lives on the top of Biscuit Ridge. He
said he first saw the Great Gray Owls three years ago and has seen them
every year since. He seemed to enjoy the company of birders and had given
permission to several groups to walk into the forest that is marked with "no
trespassing" signs.

That guy also said that this spring a cow moose had walked through his
neighbor's yard. He and the neighbors all saw it. The neighbor's dog
chased the moose down the hill. One of the people said, "That 's the last
time we'll see that moose." Several minutes later the dog came running back
with the moose in hot pursuit. Does anyone know of other reports of moose
in the Blue Mountains?

Two photos of the Great Gray Owls and one of the Green-tailed Towhee are on
the BirdYak website:

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/BirdYak/lst

The photo of the owlet was taken by shooting my digital camera through my
binoculars. The two owlets were curious but did not seem to be disturbed by
my presence.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA

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* Denny Granstrand *
* Yakima, WA *
* osprey at nwinfo.net *
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