Sherry and I ventured to the east side, targeting mainly the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. We had a warm sunny day and very little wind. Our first stop was at Swift Rock (mp 182.5 on Hwy 12). We spent about 30 minutes scanning the Basalt cliffs and area. We had;
LEWIS?S WOODPECKER ? 4
BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE ? 1
CANYON WREN ? 1
RED-TAILED HAWK ? 1
GOLDEN EAGLE ? 1
We continued on to the headquarters of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. The Elk feeding area had no Elk. Not surprising, the snow levels are way too high, so they don?t need to be fed at this time. However, they still could come down in the late evening or first thing in the morning. Not many birds here, only;
AMERICAN KESTREL ? 1
LEWIS?S WOODPECKER ? 2
Our last stop in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area was over at Cleman Mountain, where the Big Horn Sheep feeding area is located. We spent about 2 hours here. We had between 125 to 150 Big Horn Sheep scattered across the slopes. We had some from quite close to way up at the top of the ridges. Birds we saw here;
RED-TAILED HAWK ? 1
GOLDEN EAGLE ? 1
PRAIRIE FALCON ? 1
Before heading home, we drove up Bethel Ridge Road. We didn?t find any woodpeckers, but we did get;
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH - 2
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE ? 1
PYGMY OWL ? 1 (great scope views)

Dave Hayden
dtvhm AT nwrain.com
Centralia, WA