Hello Tweets,

My mother and I made an excursion to the Spokane area on July 27th and 28th
in search of the recently reported adult UPLAND SANDPIPER that we were very
fortunate to observe and photograph along with Marv Breece very soon upon
our arrival on the 27th from 5:45am-5:57am to the previously mentioned
location along Deno Rd. in western Spokane Co.,and according to Jim Acton
who we later met on the scene indicated this was the earliest time recorded
of the bird at this location to date. The bird was observed as we mentioned
on the 27th,BUT only for 12 minutes during our entire visit until 9am,as we
extensively attempted to relocate the bird for other birders at the location
but with NO luck and again NO luck attempting to locate the bird between
5:45am-8:45am on the 28th along with 5 other birders. The bird is assumed to
cover a great area of appropriate nesting habitat in the immediate area,but
access is quite limited due to being mostly private property. During our 12
minute observation of the Upland Sandpiper on the 27th we first located the
bird by it's distinctive "rolling" call indicating and announcing the bird's
presence, which at the time was at near 200 feet above the ground as the
bird came in from the NNW from the north side of Deno Rd. then the bird was
tracked and followed continuing SSE,but gradually lowering in elevation and
still actively calling until we all watched the bird drop in the open field
south of Deno Rd. and southeast of the PUD substation along Deno Rd. The
bird was then tracked and well observed for up to 7 minutes(with 5 minutes
observed in flight)on a wooden double post along a main fence line in the
open field,which was also visible from the Deno Rd. After Marv and
I(Patrick)walked back to Deno Rd. from the field we attempted to relocate
the bird while other birders joined us at the location,while my mother
continued at the original location pursuing photographs,BUT the bird dropped
to the ground and was never observed again during our visit.

The bird was noted during our entire observation to show breeding behavior
with the calling heard in flight,and the partial aerial display with the
known display observed without the fast descending drop to the ground from
an elevated hover or glide on flat wings. While observed in flight and on
the ground ALL the main field marks were observed including the relatively
small-headed appearance,long neck connecting to the relatively bulky or
chunky body structure,barred underwings(observed in flight only)short,thin
bill, barred tertials and coverts giving the bird a very "mottled"
appearance,and long graduated tail among other several subtle features
noted. The bird maintained a relatively close distance to us and did not
seem agitated by our limited presence,before it was last seen. As mentioned
previously my mother extensively searched for the bird on the morning of the
28th(today)along with 5 other birders at the same location as previously,but
due to the near constant windy conditions compared to much calmer condtions
on the 27th the bird was not relocated,but may or should still remain in the
area. The general area is quite vast and occupies much area to cover for one
individual bird,but most of the observations seem to occur from one general
area north and south of Deno Rd. within the area of the PUD substation and
north of the Spokane Raceway. During one occurance during our observations
there was a thought that two birds may exist due to calls heard from two
locations,but NO visible proof determined this to be true as in previous
observations made by other observers and it could be possible the bird may
just be experiencing abnormal breeding behavior such as showing all the
major characteristics of a breeding but with no other bird around such as
most recently with the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Hardy Canyon that was
observed to show breeding behavior by building a nest,singing on
territory,etc. but with NO female around. Could this behavior exist in many
or all bird species at times,or is this as indicate abnormal breeding
behavior among birds? Perhaps a visit to the current location next year in
May will determine if the species will breed successfully.

Perhaps the recent Spokane Co.Upland Sandpiper will linger or perhaps it
will obtain additional areas to reside at within the general area in which
the bird has been observed near or at. Neverthe less of this recent sighting
it is a very declining species in our region due mainly to past and present
land development,and hopefully further isolated sightings may occur in the
general Spokane area.

Throughout our entire successful 2 day excursion to the Spokane area with
additional exploring/birding made in other nearby areas in
Whitman,Lincoln,and Adams Cos. we manged to greatly enjoy all the areas we
visited,despite the near constant windy conditions after leaving the Upland
Sandpiper location on the 27th and with a few very dusty roads we travelled
on. Many of the areas we visited along with searching for dragonflies showed
great birding potential such as along Hwy.23 south of Sprague and north of
Lamont in both Lincoln and Whitman Cos.,and a few other areas we managed to
locate several shorebird species at to be listed below in our species list.
The area along Hwy.23 between the towns of Sprague and Lamont hosted many
variable sized lakes that hosted good numbers of nesting/summering
waterfowl/waterbird species,as well as migrating shorebirds of which Sheep
Lake along Hwy.23 on page 72 in the WA DeLorme Atlas was the most productive
and diverse for many species for the size of the lake. A few of the other
named and unnamed lakes and ponds along Hwy.23 southeast of Sprague in both
Lincoln and Whitman Cos. showed great potential for additional shorebird
habitat including appropriate exposed shoreline,but a few of the lakes/ponds
either hosted a very high water lever combined with very reedy conditions,
were full of water-submerged vegetation or were completely dry due to the
near drought conditions in the immediate area. There were of course many
areas we did not visit due to extensive coverage needed along dusty
roads,but the general areas offers good birding potential local birders and
birders from abroad in the general Sprague area along with coverage made at
Sprague Lake and the Sprague STP(both accessed from I-90).

A list of our most notable species for the area and our 2 day trip consisted
of the following at selected locations:

Eared Grebe
62+ at Sprague Lake,Adams Co.(AD) on the 27th
44 at Sheep Lake,Whitman Co.(WH)on the 27th
22 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th

Western Grebe
55+ at Sprague Lake,Adams/Lincoln(LI)Cos. on the 27th

Clark's Grebe
2 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 27th
4 along I-90 at Moses Lake,Grant Co.(GR)on the 28th

Am.White Pelican(very high count)
185+ at Sprague Lake,Adams and Lincoln Cos.
11 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th

Redhead
37 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th

Ring-necked Duck
8 on Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th

Bufflehead(rare in summer for locations,presumably oversummering birds)
2 along Hwy.23 south of Sprague,LI on the 27th
47 at Sheep Lake on the 27th(very high count for location for the season)
3 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th
3 along I-90/MP 252.8 at Ames Lake,LI on the 28th

Gray Patridge
35+ along Deno Rd.,Spokane Co.(SP)(Upland Sandpiper location)on the 27th

Semipalmated Plover
1 adult at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th

Black-necked Stilt
4(2 pair)along Hwy.23 south of Sprague,LI on the 27th(with one pair observed
with 2 young)

Greater Yellowlegs
5 at Ames Lake,LI on the 27th,with 1 there on the 28th
5 along Hwy.23 south of Sprague,LI on the 27th
11 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th
2 at Folsom Lake,WH on the 27th

Lesser Yellowlegs
2 at Ames Lake,LI on the 27th
13 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th

Solitary Sandpiper
1 at Ames Lake,LI both days

Semipalmated Sandpiper
2 at Ames Lake,LI on the 27th, with 1 there on the 28th
3 along Hwy.23 south of Sprague Lake,LI on the 27th
3 at Folsom Lake,WH on the 27th

Western Sandpiper
2 at Folsom Lake,WH on the 27th

Least Sandpiper
4 at Ames Lake,LI on the 27th,with 3 there on the 28th
2 along Hwy.23 south of Sprague,LI
1 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th
7 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th

Long-billed Dowitcher
2 along Hwy.23 south of Sprague,LI on the 27th
2 at Ames Lake,LI on the 28th

Common Snipe
1 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th

Wilson's Phalarope(juvenile,nonbreeding and 1 in adult breeding plumage)
11 at Ames Lake,LI on the 27th, with 7 there on the 28th
23 along Hwy.23 south Sprague,LI on the 27th
38 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th
1 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th

Red-necked Phalarope
1 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th
1 at Ames Lake,LI on the 28th

Bonaparte's Gull
3 at Sprague Lake,Lincoln and Adams Cos.on the 27th

Caspian Tern
2 along Hwy.23 south of Sprague,LI on the 27th
1 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th

Black Tern
37+ at Sprague Lkae,Lincoln and Adams Cos.on the 27th
68 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 27th(high count for location)
9 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 27th

Barn Owl
1 along I-90 west of George,GR on the 27th

Burrowing Owl
1 near George,GR on the 28th

Lewis' Woodpecker
1 nesting pair along Gordon Rd. north of Airway Heights,SP(at a remaining
active nestsite,being previously reported)on the 27th

Mountain Bluebird
1 male along Deno Rd.,SP(Upland Sandpiper location)with 1 pair there on the
28th

Gray Catbird
2 at Sprague Lake,LI on the 27th

Grasshopper Sparrow
8 along Deno Rd.,SP(Upland Sandpiper location)on the 27th,with up to 4 there
on the 28th


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.at.net