East of the Cascades

The temperature east of the Cascades in Spokane, Washington is 19° F and may dip down below10° tonight - the sky was bright blue and clear in Pullman this morning. Driving both last night and this evening, the 

sky was black except for the stars that stand out bright. Yesterday driving from Spokane to Pendleton, Oregon, there was a coyote walking on the ice on the far side of Ames Lake along Interstate 90 before we took the exit to Highway 395. As I drove, the bird I most frequently saw was the Black-billed Magpie (a) - along 395, particularly south of the Tricities area, along Interstate 84, and even on the Washington State University campus. There were also American Crow (b), and yesterday evening driving after passing Walla Walla, Washington along Highway 297, twice  Snow Owl (c) flew across the road in front of the car. The driving at night is easy (2), without a lot of on-coming traffic and good road conditions. I am sure I also saw either an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) or a Merlin (Falco columbarius). On this trip, along Interstate 5 between Portland and Albany, Oregon, a large raptor perched on utility poles or fence posts is common - maybe Rough-legged, Red-tailed, or  Coopers Hawks (3). I will need to learn the profiles of the different raptors that are found in winter so with a quick glance while driving, will know what they are.

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(1) This is one of two magpie species found in North America, and has a wide-spread range over most of U.S. The Yellow-billed Magpie is the other species, but it's range is limited to the San Joaquin Valley in California, and other areas west of the Sierra. The first time I saw a magpie was when I drove up Highway 99 towards Sacramento. I didn't know it was a Yellow-Billed, and I never saw them in the southern San Joaquin Valley around where I lived.
(2) One in my party driving to Pendleton had to dial in for a conference call, so we stopped at the Starbucks Coffee store on Highway 297 in Kennewick, Washington. I bought a compact disc titled World is China, and played it while driving from Pullman to Spokane this evening. One of the tracks is playing in the background.
(3) The Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife has a nice Weblink for raptors.