WILDLIFE WATCHING -- As spring returns to northeastern Washington, Mike Munts, wildlife biologist at the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge has resumed his periodic updates on refuge wildlife watching.
"It has been a bit of slow start," he reported Sunday. T"he lakes and ponds are just starting to break up but the river has mostly thawed and Hatch Lake on the drive out from Colville is opening up so it should not be too much longer here.
"Temperatures have in the 50s the last couple of days and birds are starting to trickle in."
One notable species seen this weekend is a white-winged crossbill.
Click continued ready for Munts' list of birds seen on the refuge in the past two weeks:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
California Quail
Wild Turkey
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Mourning Dove
Northern Pygmy-owl
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Say’s Phoebe
Northern Shrike
Gray Jay
Steller’s Jay
Clark’s Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Pacific Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Varied Thrush
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill