Subject: Spokane County Upland Sandpipers
Date: Jul 2 10:24:45 2004
From: Matthew Moskwik - mpmoskwik at hotmail.com


Re: [inland-NW-birders]A Third Upland Sandpiper (perhaps a population)Tweeters,

I thought people might be interested in this.

Matthew Moskwik
mpmoskwik at hotmail.com
Cheney, WA




----- Original Message -----
From: Matthew Moskwik
To: Bill O'Connell
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [inland-NW-birders]A Third Upland Sandpiper (perhaps apopulation)


Hi Bill,

A week ago I found 2 birds at the Deno and Harvard roads site. Thus, it appears that a breeding pair is present here.

Below are some hints for observing this pair:

I saw the bird from about 7:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M. on June 25th. The best strategy is to park at the power substation and then look into the field to the north (opposite side of the road). The bird was seen several times perching on the distant wooden fence posts near the treeline. These posts are probably 100 to 150 yards away, so he was quite a distance from me. To the best of my knowledge, the bird is typically found on these posts, however some people have observed him on the telephone poles along Deno Road near the substation.

The location of the third Upland Sandpiper is near the corner of Deno and Rambo roads (about 2 miles west of the Harvard road birds). I doubt you will be able to see the sandpiper from the road as it was at least 150 yards from the road and over a hill. I don't know the people who own the property. My girlfriend lives next door and they told her she could access the property. Thus, I can't tell people that they can access the property. Therefore, if you'd like to see an Upland Sandpiper I reccommend looking for the birds at Deno and Harvard roads.

The habitat at this second location is similar to that at the Deno and Harvard Road site. There appears to be some toadflax and knapweed in the area, thus it's only a matter of time before this spreads and overtakes the native vegetation. However, right now most of the area is still covered in native grass. The area is not grazed.

Matthew




----- Original Message -----
From: Bill O'Connell
To: Matthew Moskwik
Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2004 8:49 AM
Subject: Re: [inland-NW-birders]A Third Upland Sandpiper (perhaps apopulation)


Matthew,

What is the habitat in the area? Is the native grass still the dominant plant or have the noxious weeds (knapweed and dalmation toadflax) gotten any kind of a foothold? Is the area grazed?

I would like to get over there and have a look but will not be able to do so for several days. What is the best route to the site?

Thanks,




--
Bill O'Connell
Post Falls, ID
billoconn at earthlink.net

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