Hello,



I made an early morning trip to Pend Oreille County with pleasant results.



The bird list began with a Great Horned Owl sitting on a telephone pole
along Highway 2 just south of the 211 junction at 4:15 am. By 5:20 I had
reached the Sullivan Lake Road and in the meadow across from the Ione
Transfer Station four cow Elk enjoyed an early morning breakfast.



There were Red Necked Grebes and Common Mergansers with babies on Sullivan
Lake.



I quickly made my way up FS Rd 22 and 2220 which takes you to Mt Salmo, one
of my very favorite birding areas. Around Gypsy Meadows - bout 4,000 feet I
began to encounter numerous Red Crossbills, which I seemed to run into all
day. There were also lots of Pine Siskins, Varied and Swainson's Thrushes,
and some Chestnut Backed Chickadees, Golden Crowned Kinglets, and a Winter
Wren.



A bit of a surprise was an American Redstart that was at the bridge that
crossed Leola Creek (near the Thunder Creek trailhead). Another pleasant
surprise. when I parked at the Thunder Creek Trailhead (now 7am) I heard the
unmistakable hoot of a NORTHERN SAW WHET OWL. Sure enough, a short trip down
the trail flushed the little guy from its perch in a fir tree.



My first really productive stop was at the last major hairpin curve before
ascending to Salmo Pass. Among the numerous Red Crossbills, there were at
least two WHTIE WINGED CROSSBILLS. And among the Mountain Chickadees, there
were more Chestnut Backed Chickadees and two BOREAL CHICKADEES. Also, there
was a pair of PINE GROSBEAKS including a beautiful male that came low for
good looks. Hermit Thrushes and Olive Sided Flycatchers were easy to locate.




On the road to the summit, I found another BOREAL CHICKADEE, and further up
the road I stopped at one of my favorite places to find Fox Sparrows and
heard the distinctive sound of a clucking grouse. Getting out of my car, I
quickly located the female DUSKY GROUSE with 4 babies around her. Oh yes,
the Fox Sparrow made his appearance as well. A the summit, there were many
Steller's Jays, some feeding persistent babies and a couple of Clark's
Nutcrackers made a lot of noise on the hillside below.



I found more WHITE WINGED CROSSBILLS at campground/horse facility at the end
of the road.



On my way back down, still about 5,200 feet high, a female SPRUCE GROUSE
with three chicks let me get a great look at them as they slowly crossed the
road. There is a story behind the Spruce Grouse that I must tell. Those who
know me, know that this has been the nemesis bird on my life list for 19
years. I have walked, stomped all the bushes and trails and have driven all
the appropriate roads. I have nearly made Bunchgrass Meadows my own back
yard. And to make things worse, every year about this time, I begin reaing
all the Tweeters posts of people seeing Spruce Grouse right where I had
been. Anything like this ever happened to you? Well, I got my life Spruce
Grouse last week in Glacier Nat'l Park (on the road to Bowman Lake). I stood
eight feet from a great looking male with my son and my wife with me. It was
a blessed moment. And now, a week later, I have a mom and her babies just
walk out on the road in front of me in a place where I had been a hundred
times! Birding! Now I'm almost feeling like an expert on Spruce Grouse.



On my way back down the mountain, the temps began to rise and the birding
really slowed down. A couple of American Dippers fed along Sullivan Creek
and a pair of Evening Grosbeaks chattered from a Western Larch at the Mill
Pond. The trip back home along east side of the Pend Oreille River has
pretty uneventful as well. No shorebirds to speak of except a couple of
Greater Yellowlegs. The water levels along the river are dropping however.
A Western Grebe was swimming in the middle of the river at the Flying Goose
Ranch.



That's about it! Hope you get to make it up to Salmo. It's a great place to
bird.



Blessings

Terry Little, Mead

terry at crossoverchurch.info