On Sunday (5/17/09), several of my westside birder friends (Guy McWethy, Mary Francis Mathis, and Tom Mansfield), and I did a post-WOS field trip to southern Pend Oreille County. The weather was sunny, mild, and beautiful with temps ranging from the mid-40's to the mid-70's.

Since everyone was a keen county lister, we specifically targeted the local county specialties, Beginning the trip in the County Line Meadows (traversed by Allen & Kilpatrick Roads), we quickly picked up WESTERN KINGBIRD, HOUSE WREN, RING-NECKED PHEASANT, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, LAZULI BUNTING, EVENING GROSBEAK, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, and SAVANNAH SPARROW.

Perhaps our best bird of the day, was a tail-wagging GRAY FLYCATCHER that was in a xeric patch scattered brush and young Ponderosa Pines. This spot along Allen Road is the same place where Mockingbird and Clay-colored Sparrow have turned up in the past. The Gray Flycatcher was a great county lifer for each of us.

In the Spring Valley section of the county, we added MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, and VESPER SPARROW. The wetlands south of Dalkena, held NO. PINTAIL, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCK, CINNAMON TEAL, HOODED MERGANSER, COMMON GOLDENEYE, WOOD DUCK, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, WILSON'S SNIPE, and WILSON'S PHALAROPE.

The bridge crossing over southern Calispell Creek yielded the perennial favorites of AMERICAN REDSTART and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH. Due to the late cold spring, the emerging leaves of the aspens, alders, and willows were only barely unfolding. As a result, we enjoyed fabulous, unobstructed views of the lovely male redstart and the highly territorial waterthrush.

Some of the more common species that apparently had not yet arrived in this far northeastern county included Gray Catbird, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Bobolink, and Willow Flycatcher. Water levels on both Calispell Lake and the Pend Oreille River were quite high, and no migrant shorebirds were found.

Attending the feeders at the tavern in Cusick, were the hoped for trifecta of CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, and BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD. Although Cusick Meadows failed to produce any Bobolinks for us, we did see several BALD EAGLEs, TURKEY VULTURE, NO. HARRIER, and a GOLDEN EAGLE. Apparently, there was carcass out in the field, that was attracting the scavenging eagles.

On our afternoon visit to the Flying Goose Ranch, we observed MARSH WREN, OSPREY, VIRGINA RAIL (one flew across a large pool), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, SNOW GOOSE, a pair of WESTERN GREBES, and a pair of GREATER SCAUP (the latter two species were on the river). While SORA were calling from out in the marsh, we tried unsuccessfully to spot Bitterns. Most of the cattails were matted down plants from last year, and the new growth was just emerging.

Later, a quick stop at Jared Marsh provided us with the only RUDDY DUCK sighting of the day. By the time we reached Rocky Gorge, bird activity had markedly decreased and the wind had freshened. Despite the mid-afternoon, sub-prime conditions, we still added NASHVILLE WARBLER, WESTERN TANAGER, and HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER to our trip list.

Ending the day with 101 species for Pend Oreille County, and finding such unexpected species as Gray Flycatcher, Snow Goose, Golden Eagle, and Greater Scaup added plenty of spice to our most enjoyable trip. Good friends, good weather, and good birds are always a nice desirable combination!

Gina Sheridan
Spokane, WA