Michael,

There are lots of Columbian Ground Squirrels west to Hart's Pass and
Manning Provincial Park. I don't know how far south they extend on the
east slope or Cascade crest. Not too far presumably, though I think I
heard them on the Teanaway River once above Cle Elum.

Gene Hunn.

Another PS: with an SAS field trip at Big Four Meadows in eastern
Snohomish Co. had at least two Chipping Sparrows, one singing snatches of
song, Saturday, June 10. Anybody finding Chipping Sparrows on the west
side north of the Pierce Co. Prairies?



On Sat, 10 Jun 1995, M. Smith wrote:

>
> Hi Tweets, a recent trip to Methow and Okanogan Valleys was fun and
> brought out some good birds. Highlights include Great Gray Owl in
> northeastern Okanogan county, and a Clay-colored Sparrow at the Camas
> Creek Burn.
>
> Rainy Pass was actually Snowy Pass when we went over on Tuesday (June 6),
> so we didn't stop to look for birds here, but it was snowing pretty good,
> with still alot on the ground. Winter is still 'in' up in the Cascades
> high country.
>
> The Methow Valley was crawling with good stuff, including Lazuli
> Buntings, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and Western Tanagers. Seems like a
> Pewee was in every tree, and there were 10 Chipping sparrows for every
> Pewee. Higher elevation birding at Rogers Lake did not turn up any
> boreal species (not even a Boreal Chickadee), nor did a hike along the
> Freezeout Ridge trail. The area seemed empty of birds except for
> Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Townsend's Warblers, and Spotted Sandpipers. This
> spot looks like it would be good for any of the northern Tringa
> sandpipers, assuming they wanted to nest in our fine state.
>
> Okanogan Valley had several species similar to the Methow, plus
> Bobolinks. The Great Gray Owl was seen and heard at dawn (5:00 AM) on
> Friday (June 9) at last year's spot. Williamson's Sapsuckers were here also.
>
> Finally, on the way home, we stopped at the Camas Creek burn to try for
> Black-backed Woodpecker. I really wanted to see one, so I had a 'no tree
> left unturned' approach. We dipped on the woodpecker, but I was rewarded
> with excellent views of a *Clay-colored Sparrow*!! For anyone who wants
> to try for it, it was at the eastern end of the burn, about 100 feet
> above the road (halfway up the slope), and about 100 feet from the
> forest's edge. The time was about 5:00 PM, so it was not the least bit
> interested in singing, but perhaps an early-morning visit would provide
> some vocal hints as to where it was.
>
> Here are my notes on the Clay-colored Sparrow
>
> Small, clear-breasted Spizella sparrow. Prominent facial markings
> including a white stripe above the eye (no color in the lores), a white
> stripe below the ear patch, and a white chin leading to a very light
> breast (sort of off-white). Behind the ear patch is a white area,
> extending on to the nape, where it becomes very light gray. Top of head
> and wings had similar coloration of light brown with darker streaks.
> Feeding in flowering shrubs, occasionally perching on burned branches.
>
> I sketched the bird and then compared it to the guides to confirm my
> suspicions that it was a Clay-colored. I have only seen on before, so it
> is not my best-known species, but its markins seemed very distinct, and I
> viewed it for a long time in good light (and at close distances) while
> taking notes and sketching it. I am more familiar with the other
> Spizella species, especially Brewer's and Chipping.
>
> Another interesting find (with fur) was a probable Columbia Ground
> Squirrel at about 6000' near Freezeout Pass. Small patches of Artemisia
> tridentat occur up that high (along with a few ponderosa pines) mixed in
> with the more expected subalpine fir and engelmann spruce. We saw a
> ground Squirrel with distinct red hues on the throat, face, chest, and
> belly. Unfortunately, we didn't have the old collecting gun...
>
> Just so I don't focus on only rare species, we had robins at every stop
> we made, from shrub-steppe to subalpine.
>
> -------------
> Michael R. Smith
> Univ. of Washington, Seattle
> whimbrel at u.washington.edu
> http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike.html
>
>