Spent an enjoyable morning at Sentinel Bluffs today (Grant County north of Mattawa on the Columbia River). Among the many breeding birds (abundant orioles (25+), grosbeaks, yellow warblers) were quite a few migrants still around. They included 2 Cassin's Vireo, 3 Warbling Vireo, 8+ Wilson's Warbler and 3 Townsend's warbler. The most interesting bird however was a singing and skulking (aren't they always?) BROWN THRASHER. I wonder if this is the same bird from several weeks ago or if this is a second bird. I arrived about 30 minutes after sunrise and this bird did not start singing until about 7:00 but remained singing until I was leaving about 8:30. I only got a couple of fleeting looks at the bird as it remained mired in the underbrush. The song of course is quite distinctive and were enough to confirm the bird for me, though quick looks did help to make sure I wasn't dealing with a mimic. The bird spent most of its time around some roses on the west side of the trail. These roses are found when you get to the riparian area, turn left and head south along the path. The roses are about 200 meters down the path on your right. The water level is amazingly high. There were a couple of places where the water was only 10-20 feet from the path.

If others stop here, I'd be interested to know if the thrasher is relocated or not. If it is, that might give indication that this bird was the same one found several weeks ago and it has set up a territory.

The only thing that dampened my spirits a little was finding that the path was infested with ticks! When I checked myself I found an amazing 20 on me and my clothes! Geez! A good morning at Sentinel Bluffs is worth pulling 20 ticks off though!

Scott Downes
downess at charter.net
Yakima WA