Hello Tweets,

My mother and I enjoyed a very rewarding successful weekend excursion August 23rd-25th to Pend Orielle Co. and other points to and from destinations,which primarily a dragonfly trip with some additional birding included. Our main efforts were made in Pend Orielle Co. specifically at Bunchgrass Meadows(south of Sullivan Lake and east of the town of Ione in northern Pend Orielle Co.)and Frater Lake accessed along Hwy.20 between Ione and Colville. We located our target dragonfly species at Bunchgrass Meadows on the 24th,being a Delicate Emerald which has recently been added to the WA and occurs in British Columbia. The weather during the entire trip was very good,which made searching for dragonflies and birding worthwhile in addition to visiting many locations along the way. Our main itinerary for each day follows below:

August 23rd,2003

Driving from Tacoma to Bunchgrass Meadows with a few stops made at several locations including Vantage,Sprague Lake in Adams and Lincoln Cos.,Sheep Lake to Crooked Knee Lake along Hwy.23 in Lincoln and Whitman Cos.,then north to Reardan in Lincoln Co.and continuing north and east to Bunchgrass Meadows(accessed along FR 1935).

August 24th,2003

Bunchgrass Meadows then traveling west to Frater Lake,then continuing west then south to Reardan,then south to the Sprague Lake Rest Area along I-90.

August 25th,2003

Sprague Lake to Crooked Knee Lake between 7am-9am,then driving home to Tacoma.

Overall we had a great combined weekend with a total of 158 bird species in which we encountered several key and main highlights with a few locations visited twice during the weekend. Most notable were shorebirds at several main locations with Hwy.23 between MP 40 and Crooked Knee Lake in Whitman and Lincoln Cos. being the most productive followed by a few shorebird numbers noted at the Reardan"ponds" along S.R.231 and at the extreme southeast corner of Sprague Lake in Adams Co. We encountered fairly good numbers of Swainson's Hawks primarily along the I-90 corridor between George and Sprague north to the Reardan area. We really enjoyed our visit again to Bunchgrass Meadows,which hosted a good assortment of bird species in addition to a few notable dragonfly species that are noted at this isolated location. The northeast corner access of Bunchgrass Meadows will be close to motorized vehicles as of 2004,which a sign is posted at the intersection of FR 1935 and 050,but there is an access at the southeast corner of the meadow,which we accessed and walked the entire perimeter of the meadow on the sunny morning of the 24th. Our main highlights of the trip include the following:

Trumpeter Swan
1 bird observed along Hwy.23 at MP 40 in Lincoln Co.(LI)on the 25th(possibly an injured bird)

Northern Goshawk
1 immature bird at Bunchgrass Meadows,Pend Orielle Co(PO)on the 24th and 25th

Ferruginous Hawk
1 light-morph adult immediately south of the intersection of S.R.231 and Hwy.2 west of Reardan,LI along S.R.231 on the 24th

Spruce Grouse
3 juvenile birds noted foraging along FR 1935 at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 23rd(with NO adult observed)

Semipalmated Sandpiper
2 at Crooked Knee Lake,Whitman Co.(WH)on the 23rd
3 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 25th

Stilt Sandpiper
5 at the southeastern corner of Sprague Lake,Adams Co.(AD)on the 25th. The birds were foraging amongst 4 Lesser Yellowlegs and 1 Long-billed Dowitcher in a muddy area immediately bordering Sprague Lake and an extensive cattail marsh.

Short-billed Dowitcher
1 bird noted amongst 2 Long-billed Dowitchers at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on August 23rd and 25th.

Franklin's Gull
1 first-year bird at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Common Tern
1 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Boreal Owl
1 bird giving a repeated primary song 6 times at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the early morning of the 24th

Boreal Chickadee
12 noted along FR 1935 north of Bunchgrass Meadows on the 24th(with all 4 species of chickadees noted at Bunchgrass Meadows at separate locations including a single Black-capped Chickadee,which may be unusual at this location and elevation)


We encountered shorebirds at several locations,but numbers seemed noticeably down compared to visits made at the same locations during the same time period last year,although several areas had slightly higher water levels. Waterbird numbers specifically waterfowl seemed plentiful at such locations as the Reardan"ponds" and at Sheep Lake among a few other areas that we visited. We visited a few songbird "migrant traps" during our trip including Vantage and the Sprague Lake Rest Area along I-90 in Lincoln Co.,but overall numbers and species were very minimal with our best songbird migrant,being a Townsend's Warbler at the Sprague Lake Rest Area on the 25th. Other notable species of our trip included the following at selected locations:

Eared Grebe
40 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd and 25th
60+ at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 24th
7 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Clark's Grebe
2 birds amongst a large scattered flock of 74 Western Grebes on the 23rd and 25th

Am.White Pelican
64 at Sprague Lake,AD-LI on the 23rd and 25th(with 48+ Double-crested Cormorants)
5 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 25th

Canvasback
3 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 24th

Common Goldeneye
1 eclipse male at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd

Barrow's Goldeneye
2 at Hatch Lake,Stevens Co.(ST)on the 24th

Bufflehead
5 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 24th

Gray Partridge
10 along S.R.231 at MP 12(north of Edwall,LI)on the 24th

Black-necked Stilt
1 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd

Am.Avocet
5 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 23rd

Greater Yellowlegs
2 along S.R.231 at MP 65(north of Springdale,ST)on the 24th
1 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 25th

Lesser Yellowlegs
1 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd
4 at Hatch Lake,ST on the 24th
2 along S.R.231 at MP 65,ST on the 24th
4 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th
12 along Hwy.23 at MP 40,LI on the 25th

Solitary Sandpiper
1 at Frater Lake,PO on the 24th
2 along S.R.231 at MP 65,ST on the 24th
1 at the Reardan"ponds" on the 24th
1 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 25th

Spotted Sandpiper
3 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 23rd and 25th
2 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 24th

Western Sandpiper
28 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd(with 34 there on the 25th)
18 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH(with 12 there on the 25th)
11 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th
8 along Hwy.23 at MP 40,LI on the 25th

Least Sandpiper
7 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd(with 4 there on the 25th)
7 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 23rd
5 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 25th
2 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Baird's Sandpiper
5 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd(with 1 there on the 25th)
7 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 23rd
7 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 24th

Long-billed Dowitcher
2 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 23rd and 25th
1 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Wilson's Snipe
1 at Sheep Lake,WH on the 23rd
1 at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th
3 at Hatch Lake,ST on the 24th
7 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 24th
1 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 25th

Red-necked Phalarope
48 at Crooked Knee Lake,WH on the 23rd(with 10 there on the 25th)
12 at the Reardan"ponds",LI on the 23rd(with 18 there on the 24th)
15 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Bonaparte's Gull
5 along I-90 at the Winchester Wasteway(west of Moses Lake,Grant Co.)on the 23rd and 25th
1 along I-90 at Moses Lake,GR on the 23rd
12 at Sprague Lake,AD on the 25th

Forster's Tern
3 along I-90 at Moses Lake,GR on the 23rd

Black Tern
9 at Sprague Lake,AD-LI on the 25th

Rock Dove(presumably the most difficult county in WA for this species)
4 along Sullivan Lake Rd.,PO on the 24th

Burrowing Owl
1 along I-90 at MP 183,GR(east of Moses Lake)on the 24th

Long-eared Owl
1 at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th

Northern Saw-whet Owl
2 at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th

Common Nighthawk
1 along S.R.231 south of Edwall,LI on the 24th
1 at the Sprague Lake Rest Area,LI on the 24th and 25th

Northern Three-toed Woodpecker
1 at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th

Bank Swallow(high count)
950+ at Sprague Lake,AD-LI on the 23rd(with approximately 800+ there on the 25th with large groups resting along the road,along fence lines and foraging over Sprague Lake)

Chestnut-backed Chickadee
8+ along FR 1935 north of Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th

Pygmy Nuthatch
10+ at Hatch Lake,ST on the 24th

MacGillivray's Warbler
5 near Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th

"Slate-colored"Fox Sparrow
1 near Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 24th

Lincoln's Sparrow
9 at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO on the 23rd(with up to 25 there on the 24th)

Cassin's Finch
4 at Bunchgrass Meadows.PO on the 24th



Dragonfly specialties encountered include the following:

Delicate Emerald and Mountain Emerald at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO
Sweetflag Spreadwing at Frater Lake,PO
Zigzag Darner at Bunchgrass Meadows,PO
Paddle-tailed Darner at Frater Lake,PO
Lake Darner at Frater Lake,PO
Variable Darner at Frater Lake,PO



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net















































-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20030825/a01eb278/attachment.htm