The margins of some of the fields in the Palouse were rimmed with poppies, and they added a nice splash of color to the landscape. Click here for larger image.

And some of the fields were not planted in wheat, but were planted instead with canola. Here are some canola flowers just coming into bloom. Click here for larger image.

Like all places that have been occupied by agriculturalist societies for a while, the recent years have seen a trend of depopulation as agriculture morphs into agribusiness. Abandoned buildings are certainly abundant in my part of Flyover County, and they offer opportunities for a kind of architectural/industrial photography that I don’t indulge in very often.  This abandoned grain elevator south of Pullman attracted my eye, and here is one of the resulting images. Click here for larger image.

But of course, I quickly looked for a place with some birds! Kamiak Butte. This House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) was singing his little heart out on a dead snag, a song which can be heard across North and South America. Click here for larger image.

Another widespread species on this continent, the Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) is mostly a winter visitor to my part of Flyover Country. I rarely see the youngsters, and it took me a while to figure out what this little guy was! Click here for larger image.

The Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) can be found in the western part of my home state of Kansas; its congeneric relative, the cleverly-named Eastern Wood-Pewee, is a common summertime presence in my part of the state. Very similar in plumage, these two species can readily be distinguished by their vocalizations, and this one was happy to oblige. If they were silent, this would be a very tough ID! Click here for larger image.

There are some colorful birds in the Palouse as well (seriously, though, does that Wood-Pewee really deserve the specific epithet sordidulus?). One of those is another species that can be found in the western part of my home state, the Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus). Its sister species, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, is very familiar to birders in the eastern US, and, indeed, to young birders who get a field guide, look at the pictures, and quickly add that bird to their wishlist. Black-headed Grosbeaks are excellent singers, and this fully adult male was serenading me (or perhaps its mate) for quite a while. Click here for larger image.

Western Tanagers (Piranga ludoviciana) were on my wishlist for this trip west; they are simply stunning creatures. And unusual in some respects; that brilliant red color is due to a pigment called rhodoxanthin, which is not common in nature and even less common in birds. It is produced by plants, especially sun-stressed conifers, and those plants are consumed by insects, which can store the pigment. A diet rich in these insects produces  a gorgeous redhead like this male Western Tanager. A similar pigment, astaxanthin, confers the red coloration to the waxy tips of the secondaries in Cedar Waxwings, as well as being a key component in the plumage color of Roseate Spoonbills and flamingos.  Click here for larger image.

The next day I was able to range further afield, and made it up to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, near Cheney WA. This refuge has woods, wetlands, hiking trails, and lots of other things worth exploring. I happened across this female Moose (Alces americanus). She was giving me the side-eye and moving toward me slowly. Click here for larger image.

And this young Moose was in the woods behind her. I was pretty sure I was not welcome here, so I vamoosed. Click here for larger image.