Subject: Northern Rough-winged Swallow & other Columbia Basin birding
Date: Nov 24 21:23:42 2003
From: Robert Sundstrom - ixoreus at scattercreek.com


Tweets,

I was surprised - actually the whole group of ten of us were surprised - to
see a single Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Wanapum State Park today (a
few miles south of Vantage). Presumably a late hanger-on heading south. I
felt better for the swallow when we drove a mile further south into clouds
of midges - swarms of many thousands of tiny flying insects. Two other
mostly summer visitors seen today were Rock Wren and Loggerhead Shrike (the
latter in Crab Creek NWR), although these species overwinter in small
numbers in "normal" years. Nine Bighorn Sheep at Gingko State Park were led
by one very impressive nearly full curl ram, and flanked by a covey of
Chukar. We watched a Prairie Falcon diving on a flock of starlings along
Red Rock Rd., which was an uplifting endeavor, except the aerial swarms of
starlings in that part of Lower Crab Creek appeared to number over ten
thousand.

Good Birding,
Bob Sundstrom

ixoreus at scattercreek.com
along Scatter Creek east of Tenino, WA