Hi Everyone,

Along with two or three other parties, I spent the morning in the Grand Coulee area looking for the two reported rarities. It took patience due to rolling fog banks, but both were found.

At 11:50 a.m., the Northern Hawk Owl was perched on the cyclone fence along the west side of the substation (at the reported location, ~1 mile west of Grand Coulee on SR174). In a matter of 10-12 minutes, I watched it easily catch two voles. After holding the first vole for a few minutes, the owl consumed it in two bites (first the head, then the body). It held the second vole also for a few minutes, but then flew out of my view below the near brush line. Within a minute it returned to the fence. It either ate the second vole on or near the ground, or cached it. Are owls known to cache food?

The Black-headed Gull was found on the log boom at Coulee Playland at 12:50 pm. This was after previous unsuccessful attempts searching the log booms above Coulee Dam, at Spring Canyon and at Coulee Playland.

Thanks to Doug Schonewald and Denny Grandstand for their reports on these birds; they were very helpful.

Ron Friesz
Ephrata
rfriesz AT televar.com