Dear Tweeters,

I just got back from five days birding in Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Spokane Counties. Here are some highlights. Most of them are just a westside birder's exclaiming, "Ooh, look at all the cool birds they have here in Eastern Washington!"

Lesser Scaup, one drake on Big Meadow Lake.

Northern Goshawk, one adult just south of Little Pend Oreille NWR, on Cliff Ridge Road at dawn.

Wild Turkey, big herds of them in Pend Oreille and Spokane Counties. Wow!

Baird's Sandpiper, 2 at Riverbend Loop Road (N of Kalispel Reservation); 10 at a pond in Douglas County along Hwy 174, and west of the Strahl Canyon Road pond.

Pectoral Sandpiper, one at Flying Goose Ranch.

Red-necked Phalarope, 2 at the same pond as above.

Solitary Sandpipers, varying numbers at such locales as Potter's Pond (Little Pond Oreille), Flying Goose Ranch, and Little Spokane Natural Area.

Possible Herring Gulls, two juveniles at Pateros?

Northern Pygmy Owl, one at Karamip Road and SR 20 (Ferry County), one at Big Meadow Lake, one yesterday at Rockport State Park old campground loop.

American Three-toed Woodpecker, one at Big Meadow Lake (Meadow Creek Trail).

Empidonax--varying numbers of Hammond's, Dusky, Grey, and Willow in various spots. Lots of hard-to-ID silent ones. One PSFL at Hardy Burn on Sunday afternoon.

Pygmy Nuthatch, 2 at Big Meadow Lake, habitat seems off, local birders thought it a rarity.

Grey Catbird, 4 at Little Spokane River Natural Area; one at Bayley Lake (Little Pend Oreille NWR).

Vesper Sparrow, a nice one at Big Meadow Lake.

Bobolink, 8 at the hayfields just north of gate to Chewelah sewage ponds. And hey, why was that gate locked at 4:20 PM? I had wanted to see some shorebirds!

Red Crossbills--lots of them almost everywhere, including here in the Lyman area lately.

Cassin's Finch, one at Hardy Burn on Sunday, three there yesterday.

Oh, and a cow moose with calf at Potter's Pond shortly after dawn.

Oh, and a surprising passerine behaviour note. In 100-degree heat on Wednesday afternoon, there was an odd assortment of songbirds hopping about on top of and on the sides of an apparently abandoned (or maybe just done-for-the-year) Osprey nest near the river at Flying Goose Ranch. These birds included a young American Robin, a Western Tanager, two young Chipping Sparrows and two Cedar Waxwings. I was thinking that maybe there were lots of bugs in there?

Pfew!

Yours truly,







Gary Bletsch ? Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA ? garybletsch at yahoo.com ? ?