Folks,
Thanks to all of you for saving me an extra hour of daylight last evening!
So thoughtful.
I used the last hour of daylight Saturday to drive east from Arlington after
my raptor route to Threemile Canyon in the NW corner of Morrow County. I
drove in on the road to Willow Cove wildlife area to look for Long-billed
Curlews, which I've seen there previously.
At my first stop on a hilltop in the sagebrush I did a full 360 search of
the surroundings twice, listening and looking without finding any curlews.
Meadowlarks dominated the chorus.
At my second stop at the first irrigated fields I found a single LONG-BILLED
CURLEW in an alfalfa field and another in old wheat stubble. While I was
enjoying this spectacle in the late afternoon light, with the cows, ravens,
killdeer, irrigations pivots, meadowlarks, red-tails, haystacks and curlews,
I heard a "CROAA-AAKK!" and looked up to find 27 SANDHILL CRANES passing
overhead, heading north.
I thought to myself, "This is why I came to birding."
Back in Threemile Canyon I got several Virginia Rails to answer my tape.
Driving home, the sunset on the Columbia was spectacular.
Good birding, everyone,
Paul Sullivan
