OTHELLO -  "This flock is coming this way. It's coming over."

The words of Seattle's Sandy Bowman got the tour group's attention as they rode to their next destination. They looked to her side of the school bus and out the windows.

Shortly after, the bus stopped at a corn field near Othello.

It's where a flock of Sandhill cranes landed, providing an opportunity for birders to watch the cranes with their binoculars and other high-powered viewing equipment.

The group of about 20 people was one of about three tours given Friday for Othello's annual festival, which celebrates the migrating Sandhill crane.

The wildlife tour of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge brought Duane Thomsen and his grandson, Christian Lebold, 12, both of Pasco, to the event.

Thomsen said he attended the event previously, but it was the first time for Christian.

Christian said he was enjoying it, as he likes to see birds and animals. He would return if he had the opportunity.

Friday's five-hour refuge tour started in Othello at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office and was led by Gordon Warrick, a refuge biologist, and Shannon Ludwig, a fish and wildlife manager.

Tour participants were treated to a sunny and clear day.

Warrick paused to talk about geology and pointed out two features, the Saddle Mountains and Frenchman Hills.

The group then saw a view overlooking the Channeled Scablands, a geologic erosion feature from the Missoula floods of 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Crab Creek flows down the bottom of the channel, Warrick explained.  

The rocky area the group was looking at once was lava that solidified. Flooding scoured away the basalt.

"We'll get a closer look at the unique geology of the scablands," Warrick said.

He discussed the changes the area experienced because of the federal Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. Water seeped in the sagebrush steppe, affecting the habitats of certain animals, such as the Sage Grouse, Sagebrush Lizard and Sage Sparrow.

He said the above animals weren't doing particularly well.

The Washington Ground Squirrel is now an endangered species candidate, he said.

It is not officially listed, though, and must go through a process to see if it is eligible for recovery dollars.

If animals have needs associated with sagebrush, they are likely to suffer, which is part of the reason the refuge is here, Warrick explained.

One of the biggest problems in Cheat Grass, a non-native, invasive species that is prone to fire.

They have lost a lot of sagebrush because of fire frequency, as it is higher than it was historically.

Swaths of yellow Cheat Grass were from forest fires.

Ludwig talked about the importance of fire prevention. Humans start fires nine out of 10 times.

"Cigarettes, dragging a chain, campfires, I've seen it all," he said.

He described the land as a checkerboard, as some is state owned and state managed. Some areas are for grazing and some have high human activity.

Other tour features included Trumpeter or Tundra Swans, Rock Wrens, a Great Horned Owl nest, a Mule Deer and shorebirds.

Most of the refuge opened to hiking and photography on March 1, Warrick said.

Other public uses include wildlife observation, hunting and fishing, and environmental education, and interpretation, Ludwig said.