Greetings All:
I headed over to eastern WA today along with Carol Schulz to check out the
Vantage to Othello area. Our first birding of the day took place near Elk
Heights, where both bluebird species were very easy to come by. Along the
Vantage Hwy we got all the typical species for the date: Northern Shrike,
Say's Phoebes, and many Sage Sparrows (best seen at MP20). But the real
highlight was a young intermediate morph Gyrfalcon along Schnebly Coulee,
perched with a bulging crop west of the Gingko Petrified Forest interpretive
trail. The bird cooperated for some video, then flew off ponderously to the
north. We tried a bit for the Tufted Duck at Wanapum SP, but didn't find it.
A group of Chukar was actively calling near the entrance to the park.

The other notable stop for the day was Para Ponds in Othello, where around
1000 blackbirds put on a good show. In this flock was a minimum of 45
Tricoloreds, and likely a good deal more than that. It was nice to see the
birds up close, and even hear them "singing" frequently.

At the end of the day we checked Vantage again. Still no luck on the Tufted
Duck, and also no sign of the rosy-finches.

Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington