Sherry and I ventured over to the sunny side today to visit the Oak Creek Wildlife area. This weekend is the last feeding weekend for the Elk, and we wanted see the herd come down, right up close and personal. At 1:30pm we were not disappointed, the feeding was on, and the Elk came right in. On our way to Oak Creek, we made a stop at Swift Rock, mile post 182.5 on Hwy 12, to look for GOLDEN EAGLES. We found 2 adults, 1 soaring, occasionally perching at times, and it?s mate on a nest. Other birds were, lots of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, 1 WHITE-THROATED SWIFT (seen and heard its chattery rattle call), 2 LEWIS?S WOODPECKERS, 1 NORTHERN HARRIER, and 1 RED-TAILED HAWK. At Oak Creek Wildlife area, we heard several CANYON WRENS, and had 1 BALD EAGLE. Later we stopped at the Big Horn Sheep feeding area at Cleman Mountain. We saw around 100 sheep, 1 GOLDEN EAGLE, 2 SAY?S PHOEBES, 1 CANYON WREN, and 2 PRAIRIE FALCONS. On our way home, I thought I saw a TURKEY VULTURE in the Randle area, but could not get a decent look.

Dave Hayden
dtvhm at nwrain.com
Centralia, WA