On June 6 I had an opportunity to drive up the Chelan Butte road from the
southeast shore of Lake Chelan. In the lower mixed riparian and sagebrush area C.
QUAIL, MEADOWLARKS, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and B. ORIOLES were prevalent. At
one stop I could see two ORIOLE nests from the same spot, with terretorial
interactions between the owners. At this stop were courting CASSIN'S FINCHES, a
W. TANAGER, and an empid. Higher up were CHUKAR, RED-TAILED HAWK, KESTREL,
BLUE GROUSE, a pair of CHIPPING SPARROWS feeding a juvenile, and a pair of HOUSE
WRENS. The highlight was at the summit meadow. I was first attracted to a pair
of starlings taking food to babies in a snag cavity. My attention was then
drawn to a PYGMY NUTHATCH flitting around. Further observation revealed that its
nest hole was only 15 inches below that used by the starlings. They also
seemed to have babies, as two birds were seen going to the hole with food. Other
birds seen at the summit included a W. BLUEBIRD and a soaring BALD EAGLE.

The flowers at the meadow were spectacular. In addition to the common lupine
and balsam root, there were hundreds of Mariposa lilies and a little patch of
bitter-root.
Bob Vandenbosch