Washington Birding... ooops!

Today I took a little break from plain ol' Canada and headed across the border with Ann Gibson. She wanted Gray-crowned Rosyfinch for her lifelist and apparently there is a feeder in the Molson area where they can be quite regular. When we pulled up to the house I immediately spotted a few ROSYFINCHES perched in a bush nearby but just as Ann was setting up the scope, a Clark's Nutcracker dive-bombed the feeder and they took off and flew way way way far away. Hoping that they would eventually return we staked out the feeder, trying to decide whether it would be better to cruise the roads or just wait. In the end waiting paid off when 50+ GRAY-CROWNED ROSYFINCHES returned to the feeder and Ann and I got stunning views of the birds in the scope (all coastal race birds as far as I could tell). After getting satisfied looks in the scope I tried sneaking around the house for a photograph but before I even came into view they all took off and flew far away once again. Hard to pin down!!! Anyways, I did however get some shots of several groups of SNOW BUNTINGS that were scattered all over the grasslands in the area. This is the first time I have seen an actual flock (at long last!) so what a treat to see as many as 500 in one group!!! Too bad I can't count 'em!
Here are some of my favourites (click on them to enlarge):