Subject: Heather Meadows (Mt. Baker)
Date: Sep 21 12:36:48 1995
From: Phil Hotlen - n8540420 at henson.cc.wwu.edu


On Wednesday, Sept. 20th, I drove my jalopy up to the Heather Meadows (ski)
area to take some snapshots, etc., not having been there for awhile. It was
early afternoon and generally bird-poor... sunny and warm.

Two species of interest:

Ring-necked Duck x3
Floating on Upper Bagley Lake, it seemed like unusual habitat for them;
high elevation and exposed.

Red Crossbill x2 (male and female pair)
They were feeding for several minutes in a large, old Mountain Hemlock,
sending down showers of seeds or husks. I did not hear their call notes,
probably due to my now defunct sense of hearing. Their relatively
small size (subjective) and their seed preference seem to identify them
as Type #3 (WOS News #27). This location was at a highway pullout
somewhere near mile marker 50 or 52, I think, approaching Heather
Meadows.
Phil Hotlen <n8540420 at Henson.cc.wwu.edu>
Bellingham, WA