Tweets,
On grasshopper sparrows there are still a few Grasshopper sparrows on the
waterville plateau, though all of the grasslands up there are beginning to
get devoid of birds. I don't know the details on the asked about location,
however if you drive Heritage ( L NE) or other roads in the plateau and stop
in the CRP grassland areas you should be able to find grasshopper sparrows.
The CRP lands, especially the nice new dense stands have a decent abundance
of grasshopper sparrows. Many may not be aware that grasshopper sparrows
have an alternate call to the buzz song. Their alternate song is a rapid
series of warbles and they give this song as often as their more known song.
Within an hour of sunrise is best this time of year and while most roads in
the plateau are public most of the land is not, so make sure you stay on the
public roads. I would recommend Heritage (L NE) for ease of access. For
those not familar with CRP lands (Conservation reserve plan) there are only
two types of grasslands in this area the wheat fields and the planted CRP
grasslands, the new CRP fields have a more native mix of grasses and thus
often have more grasshopper sparrows.

On Painted Ladies I've been noticing a huge abundance of them around
Waterville Plateau these past couple of weeks. They seem to be favoring one
of the knapweed species with estimates of 5-10 ladies per square yard in
areas where this plant is available. I personally have not seen such
densities in these areas prior to this, quite impressive.

Scott Downes
downess at charter.net
Yakima/Coulee City WA