Hi Tweeters,



Robert Reidel, Tina Klein-Lebbink and I had a great weekend birding areas in
the Waterville Plateau and the Okanagan. Highlights include:



- About 18 Clark?s Nutcrackers on our stop at Sleeping Lady (we
also had a Turkey Vulture here on our trip home)

- 18 Eurasian Collard Doves at Withrow

- Nesting Golden Eagles near Tonasket (the nest is on the cliffs on
the west side of 97 on the south entrance to Tonasket; we had a good view of
the nest from Crumbacher Road)

- Great views of Loggerhead Shrike and Mountain Chickadees on Happy
Hill Road around Conconully

- Northern Pygmy Owl heard at the Sno-Park at Havillah

- Numerous Mountain and Western Bluebirds on the Tonasket-Havillah
Road; Rough-legged Hawks were easily observable here as well as on the
Waterville Plateau. We also had numerous Say?s Phoebes on the plateau.

- Around 7 male and 3 female Sage Grouse at the lek at Leahy
Junction (follow directions to the lek in Birder?s Guide to Washington; the
birds were seen on both sides of the road)

- White-winged Crossbills at the Skyline Trail; Robert and I hiked
the trail to the right with no luck, but Tina went left and had a flock of
five near the power lines; on the return trip we had about 20 Evening
Grossbeaks flying around the parking lot.



PS. If you?re birding the Okanagan, we highly recommend the Breadline Caf?
in Omak
(they have a website).



Megan Lyden

Bellevue, Washington