Hi tweets,



If you're birding in EWA this weekend, and I know a lot of people are,
there is an unforgettable sight along the trail about a half mile from the
suspension bridge over the Yakima River. In a cliff to the north there is a
Prairie Falcon eyrie with four nestlings plainly visible (with binocs,
though a scope is better) when a parent is there to feed them. You will
gasp when the parent rips off shreds of meat and feeds them to the eager
young. They are still in the downy stage so they should be around for a
month or so. That whole area is hot, in more ways than one, right now.
Yellow-breasted Chats, Lazuli Buntings. Lewis's Woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings,
Wilson's and Yellow Warblers, House Finches, Rock Wrens, and a huge
population of Goldfinches are all singing at the tops of their syrinxes. In
a word; it's glorious.



Umtanum is a US campground about 10 miles south of Ellensburg on the Canyon
Road, SR 821. There is a $5 fee to park and it is very popular.



Good birding, Alan and Wendy Roedell, Seattle; mail to roedell at speakeasy.net