I birded again today on the Foothills Trail from South Prairie to Crocker,
my usual route of a little over 5 miles. The highlight occured when I was
counting Turkey Vultures from the small park in South Prairie. I saw an
oddly shaped bird about a mile away, flying directly towards me from the
ridge to the north. Thinking it was a Pileated Woodpecker, I almost put my
binoculars down, but as it got closer I realized there was no white in the
wings and it was clearly an adult Lewis's Woodpecker! The bird flew directly
over me and landed in the largest cottonwood south of the town. Some
other interesting notes among 70 species are listed below.

FOOTHILLS TRAIL (11:45am-4:10pm):
Low clouds cleared afternoon; 55-60?; N wind 10mph.

Wood Duck (2)
Turkey Vulture (53)-migrating.
Northern Harrier (1)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (2)
Cooper's Hawk (1)
Solitary Sandpiper (3): still lingering at the wetland.
Wilson's Snipe (2)-wetland.
Vaux's Swift (44): these must have a roost somewhere in S Prairie.
Lewis's Woodpecker (1)
Red-breasted Sapsucker (4)
Willow Flycatcher (1)-getting late.
Hutton's Vireo (8)
Warbling Vireo (1)
Violet-green Swallow (135): still high numbers.
Brown Creeper (18)
Winter Wren (5)-numbers increased.
American Dipper (7): feasting on salmon eggs.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (56)-first major influx.
Swainson's Thrush (3)
Varied Thrush (2)
American Pipit (3)
Cedar Waxwing (13)
Orange-crowned Warbler (7)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (26): 19 Myr, 7 Aud.
Black-throated Gray Warbler (3)
Townsend's Warbler (13)
Common Yellowthroat (17)
Western Tanager (1)
Fox Sparrow (14)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (42)
Brewer's Blackbird (16)

Also observed were a Coyote and many thousands of Pink Salmon.

Cheers
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington