Saturday 8 members of the Central Basin Audubon Society embarked on a
field trip through northern Grant and Lincoln counties. Our route took us
north on Hwy 17 to Hwy 2 then east to Hwy 155 and north to Grand Coulee. Our
southward return trip followed Old Coulee Road to Almira and then Kiner Road
to Hwy 28 and back to Hwy 17.
88 species were observed during the trip with the following highlights
noted.

Hwy 17 (Moses Lake to Hwy 282)
Swainson's Hawk - 1

Hwy 17 (from Hwy 282 to Hwy 28)
Burrowing Owl - 1
Long-billed Curlew - 4
Lark Sparrow - 1

Soap Lake:
American Avocet - 8

Lake Lenore (various access points)
Barrow's Goldeneye - 4
Greater Scaup - 4
Osprey - 1
Loggerhead Shrike - 1
American Avocet - 2

Blue Lake (cliffs on the west side of the lake):
Golden Eagle - 1

Blue Lake:
Common Loon - 18 (a good number)

Bank's Lake:
Red-breasted Merganser - 4

Steamboat Rock state Park Rest Area:
Pine Siskin - 1

Almira City Park:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1

Kiner Road:
Brewer's Sparrow - several heard
Vesper Sparrow - 2
Sage Thrasher - 2

Crab Lake (seasonal flood water east of Wilson Creek):
Eurasian Wigeon - 1
Sora 1

Brook Lake:
American White Pelican - 13
American Avocet - 9
Black-necked Stilt - 5

Other observations of interest were the numbers and locations of
White-throated Swifts. Swifts were seen everywhere from Lake Lenore to Grand
Coulee. They were also seen in good numbers
Say's Phoebe also made an appearance with over 15 individuals observed
along the entire route.

Doug Schonewald
Moses Lake, WA
dschone8 at bentonrea.com