Hi Tweetes,

I was in the group along Paulson Road looking for the Orchard Oriole
and Clay-colored Sparrow when Gene Hunn walked up. I said to myself,
"Alright, now the action is about to start!" Sure enough, within a
few minutes both birds made appearances and stayed long enough for
great views and some photos. Gene is like a magnet for rare birds.

Most of us moved to the northeast corner of the treatment pond and,
after a longer wait, the Chestnut-collared Longspur flew in, landing
along the gravel road which is inside the fence on the north side of
the pond, right in front of three people who were anxiously awaiting
its appearance. In the next 45 minutes, we all got great views and
more photos. My friend Rob and I adjourned to Lana's Cafe for a
hamburger. When we returned to the longspur spot (my pickup was
parked nearby) three guys were busily taking photos of the longspur,
which was now right beside the paved road. Greater views and more photos.

During our first viewing of the longspur, Marv Breece spotted the
Palm Warbler on the north side of the cyclone fence on the north side
of Airport Way. My photos show the fence nicely, but the warbler not so well.

Saturday I went back up to the recent burned areas on Bethel Ridge,
which is north of Rimrock Lake in Yakima County. I saw:

Hairy Woodpecker - 10
White-headed Woodpecker - 1
American Three-toed Woodpecker - 4
Black-backed Woodpecker - 6

The burns on Bethel Ridge were controlled burns last month by the
Forest Service. They supposedly burned about 4500 acres, though much
of that did little damage to the trees. The area I walked through is
accessed off the road to the microwave tower, which is a right turn
off the Bethel Ridge Road just before the Bethel Ridge Road reaches
its summit on the ridge.

Photos of most of the birds mentioned are in the new photos folder on
my website. I hope you enjoy them.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Denny Granstrand *
* Yakima, WA *
* dgranstrand at charter.net *
* Denny's bird photos can be seen online at: *
http://granstrand.net/gallery/