Home from ILA North

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Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I attended (and presented) at the ILA regional conference in Moscow. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to book a room that evening in Moscow because of graduation ceremonies. I finished the conference and drove to the Super 8 in Coeur d'Alene. Next moring I headed for home. There was so much to see on the way home. It was fabulous!

On the way home I stopped at the lake and took a few pictures, and I stopped at the Mission and took a few pictures. I did not go in the Mission, I've been there before and I didn't want to take the time. Heading south I got to Missoula around 1:00. I headed into the city hoping to find somewhere interesting to eat. With Nick's long distance (thank heavens for cell phones) help. I did find a great lunch place but it was packed and there was no parking in the downtown area and there were people everywhere so I gave up and headed south. That little detour (which still didn't get me lunch) took an hour. Anyway, I ended up at a roadside diner south of Missoula.

As I passed Camas wildlife refuge the urge to go birding was overwhelming so I stopped in Roberts and did a drive by through market lake. There were tons of birds! It was early evening and I found the Short-eared owl out hunting. I just assumed it was a RT hawk, still it was sitting on a post and I might as well look and once I got my binoculars up I realized that this was no hawk. It posed for awhile and then took off to find more food. It was very cool.

I saw a LOT of birds over the 3 days including:

Short-eared owl, Golden eagles, Bald eagle, Red-tailed hawks, Swainsons hawks, Turkey vultures and Kestrels

American-white pelicans, Long-billed curlew, Kildeer, Mallards, Western grebes, Double-crested cormorants, White-faced ibises, Sandhill crane, American avocet, Black-crowned night heron, Wilson's phaleropes, Great-blue herons,

Ruddy ducks, Cinnamon teals, Coots, Lesser scaups, Northern shovelers, Readheads,

Franklins gull, California gull, Common tern
Crows, Ravens, Magpies, Stellars jay

House sparrows, Rock doves, Mourning doves, Robins, Western meadowlarks, Ruby crowned kinglet, Yellow rumped warblers,

Red-winged, Yellow-headed, and Brewers blackbirds

Bank, Cliff, Tree, Barn, and Rough-winged swallows

Red fox, Antelope, and Mule deer.

For more photos see the flickr set at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157618913280236/