I spent yesterday, 8/16/03 doing some birding in Whitman County and turned up a few good birds in the process. The best was proabably the juvenile Stilt Sandpiper at Steptoe sewage pond (just SW of the intersection of Hwy 23 and 195). There were also Spotted Sandpipers (2), Killdeer, Western Sandpiper (1), and a Red-necked Phalarope at that location. Probably the most productive area was in the NW corner of the county, along Hwy 23. Water levels at Crooked Knee Lake and Sheep Lake (DeLorme pg 72) were excellent for migrating shorebirds. At Crooked Knee Lake (mile marker 37) there were Solitary Sandpiper (4), Greater (2) and Lesser (1) Yellowlegs, Wilsons Phalarope (1), L. B. Dowitcher (1), Killdeer (8), Spotted (2), Western (6), and Least Sandpipers. Many Black Terns and waterfowl were present here as well. At Sheep Lake there was a Semipalmated Sandpiper (1), with the many Westerns (40+). Other shorebirds included Wilsons Phalarope (1), Greater (2) and Lesser (1) Yellowlegs, Killdeer (14), and Least Sandpiper (2). Also of interest here were a good variety of waterfowl and 9 White Pelicans. There seemed to be good numbers (higher than usual?) of Swainsons Hawks around the county, often associating with teh combine activity in the wheat fields. And finally at the opposite end of Whitman county there was a Peregrine Falcon at Palouse Falls S.P. (both sides of the river).
Cheers
Bill Shelmerdine, Olympia
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