Dear Tweeters,

Sorry for late posting--I just got back from a
whirlwind E WA birding trip. On Friday, 4-07-06, I
found an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW at the Spring Creek
Fish Hatchery in Skamania County. It was foraging with
Oregon Juncoes in a little oak-conifer grove by the
riverside. The exact spot is due south of the access
road from a little gravel pile; the gravel pile is by
a silvery structure and a red sign, both of which are
alongside the RR tracks.

Other fun birds on the trip, seen in various counties,
included the following: a FERRUGINOUS HAWK and a dozen
or more TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS at Wilson Creek Marsh
(Grant County); both VIRGINIA RAIL and GREAT HORNED
OWL both vocalizing at 9:30 AM along the Tucannon
River near the marsh by Harsock Road (Columbia
County); an out-of-habitat VARIED THRUSH at Central
Ferry State Park (or formerly a state park, anyway); a
pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS at Palouse Falls State Park
(Franklin County); one BURROWING OWL perched on mile
marker 44 on SR 26, West of Lemaster Road (Adams
County); one CLIFF SWALLOW at Billy Clapp Lake (Grant
County).

I also enjoyed an unusual (to me) assemblage of birds
at a birdfeeder at the Ryegrass Rest Area, I-90, east
of Kittitas: one HORNED LARK, two VESPER SPARROWS, one
SAGE SPARROW, bunches of House Sparrows and House
Finches, plus a few Oregon Juncoes and White-crowned
Sparrows. I don't know if I'll ever see that mix at a
feeder again!


Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington

garybletsch at yahoo.com


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com