Subject: West Plains & NW Whitman Co.
Date: Aug 25 18:22:42 2003
From: gina sheridan - gsherida8502 at yahoo.com


On Saturday, Garrett MacDonald and I birded some of
the shorebird spots and migrant traps of the West
Plains and Channeled Scablands of Lincoln, Adams, and
Whitman Counties. After some nocturnal showers, cooler
temps and breezy/sunny conditions prevailed through
the morning hours. The temperatures never rose above
80 degrees for the afternoon.

Our first stop was at Reardon Marsh. A typical chorus
of Marsh Wrens immediately greeted us. Flocks of
Yellow-Headed & Redwing Blackbirds were hanging out in
the tules.

A Merlin streaked down and landed behind the cattails.
Presumably, it found something tasty for breakfast.

Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, several vocal Solitary
Sandpipers, Least Sandpiper, and Spotted Sandpiper
were on the west side of the road. While numerous
eclipse plumaged ducks dabbled on the on the east side
of the marsh, a Double-Crested Cormorant flew over.

On our second stop in Davenport Cemetery, we
encountered an Olive-sided Flycatcher, Pac-Slope
Flycatchers, W. Wood Pewee, 20+ Townsend's Warblers, 3
Nashville Warblers, 1 Orange-crowned Warbler, 4
Wilson's Warblers, 3 Yellow-Rumped Warblers,
Golden-Crowned Kinglets, RB Nuts, Chipping & Savannah
Sparrows, and Barn & Bank Swallows.

On Swanson Lakes, we saw sizeable flocks of shorebirds
that included some 150 Western Sandpipers, a few Least
Sandpipers, a couple of dozen Baird's Sandpipers,
both species of Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalaropes, and
100+ Red-necked Phalaropes. We kicked up a few
Savannah & Vesper Sparrows along the road.

At one point, a Prairie Falcon scattered the
shorebirds. A second Prairie Falcon was perched on a
pole along Schuster Road. Several Swainson's Hawks,
RT Hawk, No. Harrier, and quite a few Kestrels were
all in the vicinity.

We saw two different Cooper's Hawks perched on fence
posts near Odessa and Sprague. In both cases, they
were in wide open country well away from any trees.

Since we had never been to Bassett Park in Washtucna,
we decided to give it a try. By this time, it was
mid-afternoon and fairly breezy. Although it was
rather quiet in the park, we did see several Pac Slope
Flycatchers, a couple of Wilson's Warblers, and a
Wood Pewee.

Farther north, we checked out the little memorial park
in Ralston. We turned up a couple more Wilson's
Warblers and some kind of exotic pheasant (not a
Ring-necked) that had a red bill and an irregular
chestnut patch on it's breast. Anyway, this park seems
to have migrant trap potential.

Winding our way eastward, we decided to try for more
shorebirds in the lakes of northwestern Whitman Co.
Before we reached the county line, we saw three
American Avocets on a pond east of Hwy 21.

On Sheep Lake, we found Greater Yellowlegs, W.
Sandpipers, and 7 juvenile STILT SANDPIPERs, Eared
Grebe, Bank & Barn & Rough-winged Swallows. The rank
vegetation along the track (Hardy Road on DL) held C.
Yellowthroats, 12 Gray Partridges, Song & Savannah
Sparrows, and Eastern Kingbird.

The western portion of Crooked Knee Lake was loaded
with Red-necked Phalaropes, 3 LB Dowitchers, 1 Stilt
Sandpiper, and a plethora of Western Sandpipers. While
a couple dozen Nighthawks glided silently overhead, we
spied a Sora scurrying from the shoreline into the
tules.

Although the Lamont Ponds have dried up, we saw plenty
of Ring-necked pheasants on the road. However, we did
not see any Burrowing Owls.

Our final stop was on the remote Texas Lake. Along the
lake road, there seemed to be a Nighhawk perched on
every third fence post. The best bird on Texas Lake
was a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper. There were plenty
of Western Sandpipers present too.

On the return leg, we saw a plethora of Mule Deer and
a covey of Gray Partridge that seemed intent on
roosting in the road. Although we didn't find any
great rarities, we did see a nice variety of migrant
species.

Gina Sheridan
Spokane, WA










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