Greetings,

Today I poked and puttered my way through the rolling sage and grass hills
at the northwest part of Douglas County. The weather was warm and cloudy
with a slight drizzle...perfect for a "morning chorus" all day long. Many
places were thick with singing Vesper and Brewer's Sparrows. Sage Thrashers
and Savannah Sparrows and a few Loggerhead Shrikes were also present. A
large number of Brewer's Sparrows were along D NW. The variation of
Brewer's Sparrow songs was great and ranged from simple to complex. Quite a
fun experience trying to figure what is the basic code for the species.

While listening to the Brewer's I did locate a singing Clay-colored Sparrow.
It's song was a series of five buzzes...all on the same pitch. Good looks
included the median crown stripe, the contrasty head markings and the very
gray nape. The bird was in sagebrush on the sides of a grassy draw...on the
east side of D NW...a tenth of the mile south of
of the intersection of D NW and 18 NW. D NW can be reached by taking the
McNeil Cyn Rd west from SR 172. See Delorme page 84, B2.
Another interesting sparrow was also along D NW, a little south of the
Clay-colored. It's song was a single long buzz. It gave this song many, many
times. This bird had distict head markings, a nice supercilium but it crown
was just like a Brewer's...finely streaked with black with no median crown
stripe. This bird perhaps is a hybrid Brewer's X Clay-colored Sparrow, or
perhaps a Brewer's variation.

On the way home along F NW, I watched a Badger watching me. It was next to a
huge pile of freshly turned dirt. The Badger had a pocket gopher in its
mouth. Up close the Badger is a strange looking creature. The Badger was
looking at me the same way, I'm sure.

Good Birding,
Dave Beaudette
Wenatchee,WA
drtbrdr at earthlink.net