On Mon, 21 Aug 1995 Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net wrote:
> I gather the discussion on White-winged Crossbills has been considerable.
> [snip] the Winthrop area for a night of camping. WW Crossbills overhead
> almost
> constantly both at the 30mile campground where we stayed and at Freezeout
> Pass the next morning. The number of birds in Washington must be awesome
> (excuse my choice of adjectives)!

White-winged Crossbills were near-constant companions during my long
weekend at Manning Park, British Columbia. Perhaps their ubiquity is routine
at this location, but I was still left thinking their abundance was, er,
awesome.

> and great looks at Boreal Chickadees at Freezeout Pass.

Somehow I managed not to see this species, which remains off my life
list. How could I spend more than 2-1/2 days at Lightning Lakes (and
other low-elevation spots) and the Heather Trail and not encounter them?
Do they confine themselves to elevations greater than 2000 m in late August?

Despite missing our most sought after target species, we enjoyed our time
at the Park. I saw my first Three-toed Woodpeckers (very patient birds),
a couple of Pine Grosbeaks, and several million Golden-crowned Kinglets.
Tree Swallows seemed to be absent; have they begun southward treks?

Thanks to Dick Cannings and Jim Neitzel for input on places to see birds
and scenery. I would *not* recommend the developed campgrounds to anyone,
but the surrounding area was well worth the visit. I was amazed that
several hundred people were packed into the Lightning Lakes CG,
but when I walked a few hundred feet away I crossed paths with almost
none of them.

I don't have the time to type a bird list of 55 species +/-, but will
pass information to anybody interested in what we found.

Scott "I never want to spend 3-1/2 hours in a Bellingham traffic jam again"
Richardson
OlyWa