Good morning Tweeters,



I spent the day yesterday birding various spots around central Washington.? Here are a few of the highlights:



Gingko Petrified SP: very vocal SAY'S PHOEBE, CALIFORNIA QUAIL



Quilomene Wildlife Area:? SAGE THRASHER?& SAGE SPARROW.? Both species were very common and singing away.? Some of the thrashers were displaying by flitting to the tops of bushes and spreading there wings.? Many of them seemed to be moving about in pairs.? A very good time to go and see these 2 species.



Huntzinger Rd.: I didn't stop to scope any of the water birds.? Lots of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS about.? A quick restroom stop at Wanapum SP turned up a calling EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE.



County Line Ponds outside of Othello: In the midst of the Canada Geese and various species of ducks, the southern pond also had a pair of REDHEAD and a lone SANDHILL CRANE.? It also contained 3 AMERICAN AVOCETS, one of my favorite bird species.? The northern pond had 2 BLACK-NECKED STILTS along with numerous duck species.? It looks like the initial wave of shorebirds are beginning to show up.



Para Ponds:? More REDHEADS, several YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS (I wasn't counting but at least half a dozen), and what I am almost certain were a few TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS.? Also, lots of fast cars inches from the shoulder.



Birders' Corner (Dodson Rd. & Frenchman Hills Road):? I looked for Burrowing Owls in a couple of locations yesterday with no luck, including at their spot along Dodson Rd.? Does anyone know if they are still active here?? If you are looking for CANVASBACK, Birders' Corner is the place to be.? A lone TRUMPETER SWAN was hanging about and 1 BLACK-NECKED STILT.? Several turtles were out basking, which was nice to see after our long winter.? I could here a number of cranes somewhere in the distance.



Elk Heights:? I stopped here about 4 in the afternoon, and squeezed my car into the tiny 45 degree tilted?spot off of the shoulder and hoped that it wouldn't be on its roof when I returned.? The winter has really brought about a lot of changes here.? A large number of the trees that had died during the fire a few years back had blown over.? The only woodpeckers about were N. FLICKERS.? It was still quite birdy and worth the short walk to the top of the hill.? There were several W. BLUEBIRDS about along with several of the more ubiquitous species.? At the top of the hill, I was surprised by a small flock of PYGMY NUTHATCHES.? They were extremely vocal (reminded me of my teenage daughter and her friend).? They were flitting about like brown creepers on speed, plucking insects off of the remaining trees.? This is always a nice area in spring to see early blooming flowers.? Also, several young Ponderosa Pines were in evidence.?



Among the raptors that I saw throughout the day, I must have spotted more than a dozen A. KESTRELS in various places.? There numbers are apparently dropping throughout some of their range, so it was nice to see them out in force.



On the way home, I-90 West was reduced to 1 lane due to avalanche warnings, backing up traffic for hours.? I turned back and had to drive home to Olympia via Highway 12.? Got home quite late.



Good birding,



Lonnie Somer

wheelermombi at comcast.net

Olympia, WA