Since I have been terribly remiss in posting bird
sightings, I wish to rectify this with some updates.

On Wednesday, (7/19/06(, Harold & Karen Cottet,
Garrett MacDonald, and I birded the Vantage area.
Although we dipped on Black-throated Sparrow and
Mockingbird, we did see the following birds in
Kittitas County:

SAGE SPARROW,
LARK SPARROW (numerous)
Rock Wren
Vesper Sparrow
Common Loon
Western Grebe
White Pelican
Osprey
COMMON NIGHTHAWK (2 at Getty's Landing)
CASPIAN TERN (2 at Getty's Landing)
SWAINSON'S HAWK (immediately north of Vantage)
WESTERN TANAGER - Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park
Bullock's Oriole - Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park

The best birding stop of the day was just north of
MP24 on the Old Vantage Hwy. Within a very small area
in the riparian brush at the bottom of a draw, we saw
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER - 3, SAGE THRASHER, LOGGERHEAD
SHRIKE, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

Unfortunately, the waters of Wanapum Dam and Priest
Rapids were devoid of terns and murreletes. Perch
Point held plenty of Western Sandpipers, but alas
there were not any Red Knots to behold.

We did see a PEREGRINE FALCON flying over the Sunset
Bridge in Spokane.

Over the last few weeks, other miscellaneous birds of
note were

June 30, 2006
FLAMMULATED OWL - 1 well seen bird in Rail Canyon
(Stevens County)
Aside from the owl, our party (Larry & Matthew
Moskwik, Garrett MacDonald, and Micheal Woodruff, and
I) was entertained by Northern Flying Squirrels
gliding through the treetops.

July 6, 2006
Michael Woodruff, Matthew Moskwik, and I saw at least
4 different POORWILLs on the Valley Road (south of
South Bank Road) in Spokane County. As an interesting
aside, none of the Poorwills were calling.

July 8, 2006
MIchael Woodruff and I birded northern Whitman County
and observed
a BLACK-THROATED SPARROW (from the lower parking lot
near the top of Steptoe Butte), several BREWER'S
SPARROWs (brushy lower slopes of Steptoe Butte),
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (several heard and one seen well
on Palouse Road northeast of Colfax), VAUX'S SWIFT
(several in Colfax) and a county lifer for us,
SWAINSON'S THRUSH - 2 (Kamiak Butte), a Western
Tanager singing like crazy while holding a big moth in
it's beak, BLACK TERNS (breeding on Stoner Lake),
AMERICAN AVOCETS with a young bird (Sheep Lake),
BLACK-NECKED STILTs (Sheep Lake), WILSON'S PHALAROPE
(Sheep Lake), and an adult TUNDRA SWAN (on Sheep
Lake).

July 9, 2006
Kim Thorburn and I birded up Mt. Spokane and saw BLUE
GROUSE hen (at the CCC camp), OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER,
Swainson's Thrush, Rufous Hummingbird (condos),
Steller's Jay, FOX SPARROW (several singing birds),
and two Woodleys (Bob and Charly).

Gina Sheridan
Spokane, WA

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