Spent the day birding Vantage and the lower Grand Coulee under cloudy skies, but mostly dry conditions. Overall actually had a quite productive day including Pacific Loons in three different spots, a late Loggerhead Shrike, a Surf Scoter and a Rusty Blackbird.

Highlights by location are as follows:
Huntzinger Rd Vantage:
1 Pacific Loon below Wanapum Dam
4 Tundra Swan
1 adult Loggerhead Shrike, John Wayne trailhead-late date
3 flyover Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
2 Eared Grebe
plus the usual assortment of ducks, canyon wren, rock wren, chukar and other common birds

Soap Lake:
1 Pacific Loon (northern end of lake)
6 Trumpeter Swan
7 Least Sandpiper (south beach)

Alkali Lake:
1 Pacific Loon

Blue Lake:
1 juvenile Surf Scoter-swimming by itself on southern end of lake and trying to defend its territory every time a loon got close it would actual snap at the loon, quite comical!
16 Common Loon-high amount though this lake always has a lot of loons

Brooks Lake:
4 Snow Goose

Finally driving south towards Moses Lake ran into a huge flock of blackbirds numbering about a 1000 or so. Searching through the flock found a male RUSTY BLACKBIRD. This was on Stratford (aka J NE) about 15 NE north of Moses Lake between Stratford and Moses Lake.

A good fall day.

Scott Downes
downess at charter.net
Yakima WA