Here the highlights of a trip to and from the festival and also some notes
on the festival goodies:

About 4 Grashopper Sparrows were seen in the Timentwa Flats 1.2mi up Soap
Lake Rd off US97 on the way to Republic on Friday night just before sunset.
A two-track will branch off the main road to your right in a left curve.
Walk about 0.25mi uphill and listen for their call.

The highlight of the festival was most likely a Great Gray Owl on a nest.
The bird is on private property and cannot be accessed by the public
(sorry!). 2-3 male Bobolinks were in the first 2 fields on Aeneas Valley Rd,
just about 0.25mi SE of its intersection with US20. Continuing along Aeneas
Valled Rd, 2 singing Northern Waterthrushes (1 seen, another one 1 heard
only) were found about 1.5mi short of West Fork Sanpoil campground. Thanks
to Andy Stepniewsky for the spot! We later had a calling Veery that did not
want to respond to a car alarm.

On the way back along the beautiful Lower Sanpoil Valley, Jenn and I had
several calling Hammond's Flycatchers, Ruffed Grouse and Calliope
Hummingbird and your usual plethora of riparian passerines. A male
White-headed Woodpecker seen in the burn area 0.2mi south from the Keller
cemetary was an unexpected surprise. There also was a singing Lazuli Bunting
in this area.

Stefan Schlick
Bellevue, WA