Michael,

I have seen juvenile Chestnut-backed Chickadees that look for all the
world like Boreals... rather dusty brown rather than rich chestnut, and
their calls are Boreal-like in some respects. Otherwise, the
southernmost accepted report in the Cascades is, I believe, a pair I saw
many years ago just north of Rainy Pass off the North Cascades highway.
It is possible, but our Boreals have shown no inclination to vagrate to date.

Gene Hunn.

On Mon, 6 Jun 1994, Michael Smith wrote:

>
> Yesterday on a hike north of the Teanaway River, we came across a rather
> nasal sounding chickadee in subalpine habitat, which turned out to be 2
> Boreal Chickadees. The vocalization was obviously different from the
> more common Mountain Chickadees, and reminded me of Boreals I had heard in
> Alaska. Looks at the birds showed no eyelines, but caps darker than the
> National Geo. guide suggests (but I seem to remember that about Alaskan
> Boreals as well). Anyway, the point I'm pondering is the range of
> Boreals in Washington. Based on Wahl & Paulson's bird-finding guide, it
> seems they are limited to the very far north (Pasayten Wilderness, Salmo
> Priest Wilderness). Would it be unusual to find them where we did? The
> location is south of Lake Ingalls, on the south-facing slope of the
> Wenatchee Mountains (T23N,R15E, S25, Kittitas Co.), at approx 5800-6000
> feet. Habitat was alpine parkland, and snow cover was absent in the
> immediate area (but still alot of snow around away from the area). Any
> hints on Boreal Chickadee distribution in WA?
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> Mike Smith
> University of Washington
> whimbrel at u.washington.edu
>