Dear Tweeters,

Today (27 May 2012) at about ten in the morning, I tried whistling for Western Screech Owl at Lewis and Clark Trail State Park (Columbia County). A bird answered immediately, much to my surprise, and kept calling for a good five minutes.

This was in the second group campsite that one passes driving in through the main gate on the north side of the highway--this group site is on the left, not the right, as one drives in. I walked in around a closed gate to get in there. A water spigot, a trash can, and a blue recycling can are right there in the spot where the owl was calling from woods between campsite and the ranger's dwelling. Nobody was using this group site at the time.

Also at this park were two silent Grey Catbirds, a very non-silent Yellow-breasted Chat, and lots of other birds.

At Bluewood Ski Area were lots of Wilson's Warblers, plus Audubon's and Townsend's Warblers and other birds.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

Gary Bletsch?Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA?garybletsch at yahoo.com?"Nun," sagte ich, "wenn ich ein Taugenichts bin, so ist's gut, so will ich in die Welt gehen, und mein Glueck machen." Und eigentlich war mir das recht lieb, denn es war mir kurz vorher selber eingefallen, auf Reisen zu gehen, da ich die Goldammer, welche im Herbst und Winter immer betruebt an unserm Fenster sang: "Bauer, miet' mich, Bauer, miet' mich!" nun in der schoenen Fruehlingszeit wieder ganz stolz und lustig vom Baume rufen hoerte: "Bauer, behalt' deinen Dienst!"