Hello,

Trying to dodge the early morning rain, I started the day in the Spargue
Lake area. South of Sprague, in Whitman County, there were 16 Long-billed
Dowitchers at Crooked Knee Lake. Outside of a few Eared and Horned Grebes,
there was not much on the Lincoln side of Sprague Lake.

The same held true for the Adams County side of the lake except for two
Black-bellied Plovers on the nearby rocky shoreline. Gray Partridge and
many American Pipits were seen as well. The best bird at the Davenport
Cemetery was a Cassin's Finch. Both Mountain and Western Bluebirds and
pipits were in the nearby fields.

Hawk Creek Campground hosted two surprisingly late Ospreys and a Herring
Gull.

The best bird of the day was a male BLACK THROATED BLUE WARBLER in Mill
Canyon. I had great looks at this bird - one of my favorite warblers - and
got to enjoy it for at least five minutes. I was surprised at how this
little guy had held his alternate plumage. A great bird. I hope someone
else can find it. If you missed the directions earlier. It was located
along Green Canyon Road, .7 miles west of the intersection with Mill Canyon
Rd. I marked the bush with a green streamer.

Also along Green Canyon Road was a PILEATED WOODPECKER and then there was
another one near the river. These are hard to find birds in Lincoln County.
Clark's Nutcrackers and other birds typical in the canyon were seen. The
water level at the river is high again, so there was nothing to speak of on
the water. The list of rarities seen in Mill Canyon continues to grow.

On my way home, I found 2 Northern Shrikes on the West Plains and a Rough
Legged Hawk along I-90, both in Spokane County and both first for the
fall.

Blessings
Terry Little