Subject: A hint of Spring in a cold corner
Date: Feb 13 11:17:43 2004
From: mike denny - m.denny at charter.net


Hello All,
Yesterday Ginger and Rodger Shoemake and MerryLynn and I ventured out into the low cold fog in hopes of warm sun. We headed up into the Coppei Creek drainage to bird.
Just at Dixie we came into spots of sun light and then more dense fog. Topping Minnick Hill we entered a brighter sun drenched world and headed up the north fork of Coppei. We located 3 Townsends Solitaires, 1 ad. Northern Shrike, 6 Red-tailed Hawks and an adult Coopers Hawk. This trips great surprise was masses of hundreds of thousands of Lady Bugs sunning at the base of big ponderosa pines and Doug Firs. Fun trip!

Note; Thursday evening we went out to check on the Great Gray Owl and right at the spot was a young woman screaming across the ditch to a guy and his kid as her 5 very large dogs pounded all over the area. The guy was teaching his kid to use a wrist rocket sling shot. This was murphies law in action. There was not another soul around the whole lake. Why right at that spot? These folks could have chosen to diddle anywhere in this huge area. So there was no Great Gray Owl seen. We did hear 3 Northern Saw-whets and 2 Great Horned Owls.
Later Mike


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Mike & MerryLynn Denny
323 Scenic View Drive
College Place, WA 99324
509.529.0080 (h)

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED!
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