Yesterday, Matt Dufort and I decided to bird the Lower Grand Coulee lakes from Soap Lake up to the Dry Falls Dam in search of the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL that had recently been reported in the area. The weather turned out to be pretty good for most of the day, with very light winds. We started out at Soap Lake early in the morning and took our time checking out Lenore, Alkali, Blue and Park Lakes. While scoping the area around Park Lake we ran into Doug Schonewald, Gina Sheridan, and Cindy McCormick who were birding with a group in the area, along with Andy and Ellen Stepniewski. They gave us a tip about a PACIFIC LOON that they had just seen in a small cove on the north end of Blue Lake. The birding was good, and we did locate the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on Blue Lake where it had previously been reported. Highlights of our trip were:

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - was seen on Blue Lake from a fishing boat launch spot along Hwy 17

EARED GREBE - many on Soap Lake (one flock of 80+ birds)

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE - one individual seen near Lenore Lake

Tundra Swan - several birds at the south end of Lenore Lake

Dunlin - Soap Lake

Long-Billed Dowitcher - Soap Lake

CHUCKAR - Lenore, Alkali, and Blue Lakes

GOLDEN EAGLE - two birds seen along Hwy 17 near Alkali Lake

THAYER'S GULL - we spotted two birds on Blue Lake

PACIFIC LOON - one bird seen in small cove on north end of Blue Lake

GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH - we saw a couple of birds along Huntzinger Road (south of Vantage, at the same location where they were seen last fall, about 1/2 mile south of the dam) in old Cliff Swallow nests

Cheers and Good Birding,



Michael Fleming

Ballard, WA

michaellf AT myway.com

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