Subject: [Tweeters] Great-tailed Grackle location
Date: Apr 13 18:24:25 2006
From: ronpatdexter at msn.com - ronpatdexter at msn.com


To find the Great-tailed Grackle, get on I-90. Take the Liberty Lake exit which is about 15 miles east of Spokane, WA. Turn right or south one block to the light. Turn left, do to the stop sign. Turn right on Molter Rd one block to the intersection of Valleyway and Molter. You are there....The Grackle can usually be seen or heard from the intersection. It likes to roost in the very thick trees nearby. So, if you don't see it, park with windows down and listen for the eerie calls of which some sound similar to Brewer's Blackbirds which it hangs out with. It apparently migrates with the blackbirds and returns with them . When the BRBLs young fledge, they seem to disappear from this intersection to feed elsewhere in the area. That means they will be around the intersection for the next 4-6 weeks.

If it doesn't cooperate, try going east on Valleyway a few miles to the Liberty Lake County park which is on the lake. There is a catwalk out into the marshy area of the lake which is a good spot for birders. There is also a foot trail further to the south of the parking area that winds up the hill into the woods. Then return to try for the Grackle again. There are several fast food joints at the freeway exit which is another place to spend an hour or two before returning to the Grackle intersection again. Good luck

Ron Dexter
Spokane, Wa.
Email: (Ronpatdexter at msn.com)