Hi All,
Made a 2 day run to various points in eastern Washington Tuesday, 4 and Wed,5. I feel very inferior having failed to see much of what I hoped for. Tuesday was sunny but a little breezy and cool. I started the day as the sun came up at Wanapum Dam. I saw a number of common loons but couldn't get any of them to turn his nose up or turn his bill yellow. So continued up lower crab creek. I saw a merlin and took some photos while he ignored me. I had hoped to see some sandhill cranes and while I could hear them in distance around Corfu and also near Scootenay I only saw two birds in a cornfield on lower crab creek rd. I did see a prairie falcon on B rd near Corfu and I was able to clearly see one american tree sparrow among several that I couldn't see clearly also in that area. Other than the usual that was Tuesday. Wednesday I started the day just before daybreak at the sage grouse lek on Waterville plateau. Dressed in long underwear wind pants, a parka, neck scarf, wool hat jammed down tight and gloves, I enjoyed 30 degree temp with 30 mile wind for about 90 minutes while 5 grouse halfheartedly puffed and hurrumphed and intermittenly fed or fought on distant ridges. I failed to find any waxwing types around Bridgeport area and two trips to state park got me 20+/- California Quail but not the horned owl I spent some time looking for. Of course the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't even find the flickers that were calling nearby. On way home I saw 20 Tundra Swans taking shelter from wind on pond at Frenchman Hill and Dodson Rds. Returning on B rd (don,t usually retrace my route, but) I saw a flock of at least 500 Yellow-headed Blackbirds. A few miles further on lower crab creek a flock of 250 Brown-headed Cowbirds. Coming home I saw snow and trucks on the pass.
Now tell me, is this birdwatching fun or what?
Seriously, though, the pictures I got of the swans were worth it. http://photos.yahoo.com/jvhigbee

Joseph V Higbee
Puyallup, WA
Mailto: jvhigbee at hotmail.com