Hi Tweets -

Yesterday there were Vesper Sparrows and Sage Thrashers singing at Lone Pine Road north of Swanson Lakes.

Today, Cheryl and I made a shopping and casual birding trip from Electric City south along Banks Lake and the Sun Lakes to Moses Lake and back via Stratford Road, Pinto Ridge Road, and Old Coulee Road.

The White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows are back at Million Dollar Mile on Highway 155, but no Peregrines, and no Brewer's Sparrows on the lakeside flat yet.

Highlight of the day was a flock of thirty Long-billed Curlews in the alfalfa field at the intersection of Highway 155 and US 2 at 12:15 - I've never seen that many of them in one place before.

Lake Lenore was jammed with ducks, but no stilts or avocets yet. Eared and Horned Grebes are getting into breeding plumage. Soap Lake had about 6.02 x 10^23 Ruddy Ducks.

The annual shift change in roadside buteos from Rough-legs to Red-tails is well underway, but there were plenty of both.

As usual, the Kramer Road micro-habitat had a couple of neat surprises - this time a pair of Townsend's Solitaires and a Wilson's Snipe that Cheryl was actually able to pick out on the ground.

All together, fifty-two species today - not bad for a trip to the grocery store. Happy spring!

Roy Myers, Electric City, WA