Tweeters,

I've gotten 10 requests via e-mail for information regarding the
location of the madrone grove on Cougar Mountain where I viewed robins,
bohemian waxwings, varied thrushes, brown creeper, etc... so I thought
I'd share the info with the group.

Background:

Cougar Mountain is the westernmost of a group of foothills popularly
known as the "Issaquah Alps" (Tiger, Squak, and Cougar Mtns). This
grouping of peaks is interesting because it extends far to the west of
most of the rest of the Cascade foothills, coming almost right to Lake
Washington near the intersection of I90 and I405. Parts of Cougar Mtn.
are in the cities of Issaquah, Bellevue, Newcastle and Renton as well as
unincorporated King County. A large portion of Cougar Mtn (10,000+
acres) was set aside as Cougar Mountain Regional Park in the 80's
(thanks to Harvey Manning and other crusadors) - this is fortunate, as
anything that wasn't set aside has been developed over the past 10 years
or is in the process of being developed - literally 1000's of housing
units, all HUGE and EXPENSIVE. Another park, Coal Creek Park, which
abuts Cougar Mountain Regional, has also been set aside and has some
fantastic riparian habitat and Coal Creek in the park has a small salmon
run.

Cougar Mountain is interesting because it provides a small patches of a
wide variety of habitats and a large area of second growth (and a spot
or two of old growth) timber. There are meadows, streams, and a few
isolated ponds and areas of relatively unusual vegetation, like the
madrone groves, some "brushy" areas, a burned over forest floor,
forested "swamps", riparian growth, and even some (very hard to reach)
oaks.

Cougar Mountain Regional Park

The park is accessible through 3 trailheads. Anti-Aircraft Peak off of
Cougar Mountain Drive near the Bellevue/Issaquah border, Wilderness
Creek off of State Route 900 between Issaquah and Renton, and Red Town,
at the corner where Lakemont Boulevard changes over to Coal Creek
Newcastle Road on the Bellevue/Newcastle border, not far from the old
Coal Creek Landfill (now being developed as a golf course). The trails
range from well maintained and wide, to "I hope I'm still on the trail".
There trail network is extensive, and much of it is open to equestrians
as well as foot traffic. Vehicle and bicycle traffic are not allowed.
Maps of the park are available at each trail head. There are rotating
naturalist interpretive displays as well.

The Madrone grove is, unfortunately, difficult to reach. It is accessed
using the Red Town trailhead and hiking the Red Town Trail approximately
1 mile to the Indian Trail for another mile to Far Country Lookout on
the Far Country Trail, approximately another half mile. There are
substantial hills during the hike and some of the trails are a mess in
wet weather. The madrone grove is just to the southeast of the lookout
point - not obvious where to go, you'll have to explore a little.

If you want to try other madrone groves try the bike/pedestrian path on
east shore of Lake Washington between Coal Creek Parkway in Bellevue and
SE 112th in Renton (accessible via the 112th exit off of 405), or
several of the trails in the Bellevue city trails network on the south
side of the Somerset neighborhood (where there is one quite substantial
grove).

Many people were especially interested in the Bohemian Waxwings. From
my experience these birds are largely transient during the winter -
going from food supply to food supply - it's just being in the right
place at the right time for these guys.

Good Birding to All

Rob Conway
Cougar Mountain - Bellevue, WA

robin_conway at hotmail.com

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