Hello All
Fred Boesche and I headed over and birded Stevens, Okanogan, and Douglas
Counties 4-5 March. En route to Stevens County we spotted 3 Chukar along the
highway at Lake Lenore; Golden Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, and other raptors
in the Creston area; and Western Bluebirds and Say's Phoebes scattered here
and there.

The first birding stop was at Gifford Campground, on the eastern shore of
Lake Roosevelt. Arriving at about 12:30pm, we had to walk only a few feet
from the car before we heard tapping. The place is loaded with woodpeckers,
we had: 4 Black-backeds, 9 Hairys, 3 Downys, 2 Northern Flickers, 1
Pileated, and 3 White-headed Woodpeckers. We then headed west over Sherman
Pass to Tonasket, and nearing sunset went up to the Highlands Sno-Park. It
was another fantastic owling night here with temperatures around 20 and no
wind. Totals were: 9 Northern Saw-whets, 14 Great Horned, 2 Great Gray
(heard constantly and very well in both meadows, but not seen this time), 4
Barred, and 1 Long-eared Owl. The crisp starry sky, and peaceful
snow-covered landscape made for a real treat in addition to the owls.

This morning we began just after sunset at Leahy, where 16 male and 4 female
GREATER SAGE-GROUSE were observed at the lek. 9 Lapland Longspurs flew
over as we watched the spectacular grouse display. We then birded Bridgeport
State Park, which produced 200 or more Bohemian Waxwings and a roosting
Northern Saw-whet Owl. Then it was down to the Waterville Plateau. We
searched for quite a while around Mansfield for the collared doves, with
none found. Decided to check Heritage Road/L NE for Long-eared Owls. No owls
at the grove but 20 Lapland Longspurs flew over among several hundred Horned
Larks. As we headed back to Mansfield on Hwy 172, we found a gray adult
GYRFALCON on a telephone pole 1.8 miles east of town. It stayed in the area
for 5 minutes before powering off to the south. West of Mansfield along the
highway was a imm female Snowy Owl on a telephone pole. We also had a Snowy
on Rd F NW at Road 11. In the Lamoine area we had a Merlin and 10 more
Lapland Longspurs (I've never seen so many longspurs on the plateau).

A final good bird of the trip was a Pacific Loon in the Columbia River at
East Wenatchee.

Cheers
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington