Subject: Re: Winter Mountain Birding
Date: Dec 30 11:49:14 1994
From: "Michelsen, Teresa" - TEMI461 at ecy.wa.gov





Dennis Paulson writes:

>The mountains are pretty close to DEAD at this time of the year; what's
>left up there are primarily chickadees, nuthatches, and golden-crowned
>kinglets, also corvids.

This is interesting... I went cross-country skiing recently at Stevens Pass
(Nordic Center), and in the snow-covered parking lot saw a group of
pigeon-sized mostly white birds (they weren't the occasional white rock dove
because all had the same mostly white coloration). There might have been
some brown on the breast and some other brown or grey in the wings. They
didn't look like any of the usual "street" birds in Seattle that you would
expect near people (this was a pretty quiet and small parking lot,
surrounded by forest, but there was a little lodge serving food). Not
having my binoculars out and ready (!!) I hoped to see them again later
while skiing and more prepared, but never saw them again. I saw NO other
birds, except one black-capped chickadee, the whole 4 hours.

Any ideas??

I'm going cross-country skiing in Montana in 3 weeks and hope to get to
Glacier National Park. Will those mountains be quiet, too? I was hoping to
see some winter birds I don't normally see here, but I'm starting to think
there might not be much to see (raptors??)

Teresa Michelsen
temi461 at ecy.wa.gov