Dear Tweeters,
A cold and windy walk around the Quilomene today, just east of Ellensburg, yielded one calling (not yet singing) Sage Sparrow. There were essentially no other birds present. I've been monitoring some of the territories occupied last year by Sage Sparrows to see when they arrive.

It's interesting that Sage Sparrows return to breeding grounds here on the western edge of their range in eastern Washington so early when compared with the eastern edge of their range in Colorado and Wyoming. In eastern Colorado, Sage Sparrows migrate up the Front Range in mid-April and are seen breeding in south-central Wyoming shortly thereafter. That's a nearly seven-week difference!

Cheers,
Walter Szeliga
Ellensburg, WA