Tweeters,

My four-year search for SHARP-TAILED GROUSE ended very successfully
Tuesday when Gina Sheridan and I spent an hour observing a flock of 35
in the water birches along Scotch Creek. We made the decision after
talking with Michael Schroeder on the Sullivan?s excellent 3-day trip to
the Waterville Plateau.

Michael told us that this is a great year for the grouse and that the
best place to see them at the moment is along Scotch Creek in the Scotch
Creek Wildlife Area between Omak and Conconully, along Conconully Road.
We put in nearly four hours searching for our target bird the morning of
Tuesday, the 16th of January, just the next day after talking with
Michael. This was not a planned trip, but a spontaneous response to the
good news that the grouse were prevalent and occupying an area
accessible by scope. We were lucky that we were able to respond so promptly.

We drove past the area scanning lightly the first time to get the lay of
the land and came across a small flock of pheasants in the trees, due to
the noticeable presence of a coyote along Johnson Creek. When Scotch
Creek crossed to the south under the road and the water birches drew too
far away for good scoping, we turned back and scanned a bit more
carefully, driving slower and making more stops. We were delighted by a
flock of 150 GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH at close range. A trip down Happy
Hill Road was wonderful, but did not draw us out of the car to find the
overlook where, we later learned, grouse could be seen.

Our third pass, slowly again, also did not produce the desired species,
so we took a break by birding Conconully and enjoying the tame deer
there. At 11:30 we left town to give our last, very slow,
even-more-stops tour of Scotch Creek, planning a stake out to sit and
wait to see if the grouse appeared. We chose the pullout in the middle
of the best viewing of the creek to the north with a big sign about the
Scotch Creek Wildlife Area and a second big sign about the historical U
Bar U Ranch. Walking about the pullout, we found grouse tracks?quite a few.

Very hopeful now, we settled in for lunch. Just then, the birds appeared
flying cautiously down the row of water birch along the creek. One scout
settled in the top of a tree as the others disappeared below. Over the
next 15 minutes, the birds fluttered up to the bottom limbs of the trees
and slowly made their way to the top, usually one at a time. One tree we
watched held up to 20 birds at a time. The birds ate, rested, and
finally began to flutter restlessly about an hour later.

We found closer viewing at a less convenient spot down the road, but the
birds soon took off. Gina and a Fish and Wildlife ranger, Brian, each
counted 35 as they left the area.

I want to encourage anyone interested in seeing this grouse that this is
a good year and the birds can be seen if you have the time to be
persistent about this species. The snow conditions were right earlier
this week, but if those conditions change the species can be difficult
to find.

Patricia S. Lott
Seattle, WA
mail to: VariedThrush at comcast.net