So, with the assistance of many folks from the tweeters list it appears the
mystery sparrows at the UBNA were in fact juvenile Chipping Sparrows. Given
the dark lores, distinct eyeline and stripes on the underparts.

Also, wanted to share a few species I saw in eastern WA in the past few
days. My wife and I made a trip out to the Columbia NWR, Crab Creek and
Yakima River Canyon. Stopped in Ryegrass on the way, and spotted my first
Brewer's Sparrows. At the Columbia NWR, we saw:
- lark sparrow
- rock wrens
- w. meadowlark
- common nighthawks
- great blue heron
- A. kestrel
- horned larks
-blk-billed magpies
- Swainson's hawks

At Crab Creek the highlight was getting some great shots of a California
Quail.

Finally, at Yakima River Canyon (specifically Umtanum area across the
suspension bridge) we saw:
- Lazuli bunting (adult male and juvenile)
- cedar waxwings
- western tanagers
- western wood peewee
- Olive-sided flycatcher
- American goldfinches
- House finches
Plus many more species of birds and other wildlife. Some of the animals
from the trip can be viewed here at my flickr webpage:
http://flickr.com/photos/filipt/

Overall an amazing trip, I saw 3 species of birds that were new to me:
Western wood peewee, Lark sparrow and Brewer's Sparrow.

cheers,

Filip Tkaczyk
Seattle, WA
mailto: pathwithaheart at hotmail.com

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