Tweeters,

In the course of leading my Spring Washington Tour for Victor Emanuel Nature
Tours, I saw a family of Bushtits in the Potholes Wildlife Area a few miles
southwest of Moses Lake (May 28). Adults were feeding several young in a
willow on the edge of a pothole basin. These Bushtits were clearly of an
interior form, with gray instead of brownish crowns, and a smudge of black
on the face (presumably one of the many variations with the plumbeus
subspecies described in Pyle's Identification Guide to North American
Birds). This area of the Potholes W.A. is accessible by taking the gravel
road south from I-90 about 2-3 miles east of the Hiawatha Rd. exit, and
following it to its southeasternmost end.

The overall tour was quite successful, with 200+ species including 11
woodpecker species, 4 chickadees, 8 finches, the 3 woodland grouse species,
5 alcid species, etc.

Good birding, Bob

Bob Sundstrom
ixoreus at scattercreek.com
Tenino, WA