WILDLIFE WATCHING -- The Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is celebrating its 75th anniversary with various activities to help introduce the public to an area that's been wildly upgraded in recent  years.

This is a great time to visit the refuge.  See upcoming events, including the first ever bicycling event at the refuge.  I have a details story coming up in Sunday Outdoors.

Earlier this month, refuge biologists Mike Munts led a birding tour.

We did the bird tour for the refuge 75th anniversary today (June 7). Ten people came out for a great day of birding. We saw/heard 82 great birds during the day.

• A total of 206 bird species have been documented at the refuge over time, Munts said.
• Another birding tour is planned for Saturday, June 28. 

Following is the list of species the group identified:

• Canada Goose
• Wood Duck
• Gadwall
• Mallard
• Cinnamon Teal*
• Ring-necked Duck
• Common Goldeneye
• Hooded Merganser
• Ruddy Duck*
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Pied-billed Grebe*
• Turkey Vulture
• Osprey
• Bald Eagle
• Red-tailed Hawk
• American Kestrel
• Sora
• American Coot
• Killdeer*
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Wilson’s Snipe
• Mourning Dove
• Common Nighthawk
• Black-chinned Hummingbird
• Calliope Hummingbird
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Western-wood Pewee
• Willow Flycatcher
• Dusky Flycatcher
• Hammond’s Flycatcher
• Pacific-slope Flycatcher
• Say’s Phoebe
• Eastern Kingbird
• Cassin’s Vireo
• Warbleing Vireo
• Red-eyed Vireo
• Black-billed Magpie*
• Common Raven
• Tree Swallow
• Violet-green Swallow
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Mountain Chickadee
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee
• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Pygmy Nuthatch
• House Wren
• Pacific Wren
• Marsh Wren
• Golden-crowned Kinglet
• Western Bluebird
• Veery
• Swainson’s Thrush
• Hermit Thrush
• American Robin
• Varied Thrush
• Gray Catbird
• European Starling
• Cedar Waxwing
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• McGilllivray’s Warbler
• Nashville Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Townsend’s Warbler
• Chipping Sparrow
• Lark Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Dark-eyed Sparrow
• Western Tanager
• Black-headed Grosbeak
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark*
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Red Crossbill

*Birds Munts saw at Horsethief Lake after the field trip