Driving from ID to Port Angeles on Wednesday, I tried to pick up a few county birds along the way. One of my stops was west of HW 17 where it meets HW 260 west of Connell . I drove about 2 miles west on what I believe is called Hendricks Rd- the west extension across HW 260. I pulled into a small pond access on the left, parked and started walking. In so doing, I flushed a group of 15-20 grouse like birds which quickly went from that grassy verge to the top of the rocks and disappeared. I scaled the rocks but found no trace.

The impression was limited- no time to even get my binoculars up, but the coloring of the backs as they flew away was definitely a rusty red-orange. They were generally the size of CaQuail or possibly slightly larger. I thought the head was "peaky" but perhaps that was more expectation than observation.

I checked my Sibley against my assumptions and figured they were Ruffed grouse - until I got home and saw they were categorized as a "5" for Franklin county. Now I'm totally clueless. Any help would be appreciated.

Also, I saw a flock of turkey on a lawn across the river from Hooper. Again the county list shows these as unlikely for the county ( Adams on that side of the river), so I'm wondering whether they are just feral domestics. Anyone know anything about these?

Judy Mullally judyemull at yahoo.com Port Angeles WA