Hi Tweets,

I volunteered to post a write-up of a Rainier Audubon
field trip to Green Mt (Kitsap County) kindly led by Scott Downes,
Kitsap county expatriate.

We met Saturday morning and drove via Highway 16 to the
Port Orchard airport to try for Mt Quail before heading up to
Green Mt. Though we struck out we did see a Turkey Vulture,
Willow Flycatcher and a few other birds. By the way, if you visit
the area and park at the gated road (SW Lakeway Blvd) just north
of the airport, be sure and park off to the side so that the
construction crews can use the entrance - they do work Saturdays
apparently.

After that Scott took us up the mountain via Tahuya Lk
Road. we stopped at a creek crossing and heard Wilson's Warblers
and Swainson's Thrush. Following road GM1 we went to the campground
and parked. A Solitary Vireo was singing and though we looked for
the nest that Scott's group had found three weeks ago, we couldn't
find it. Walking the logging road that goes downhill from the end
of the campground loop we heard and saw Western Tanager, Black-headed
Grosbeak, Warbling Vireo, Wilson's and MacGillivray's Warbler,
Olive-sided Flycatcher, etc.

We then carpooled up to the "vista" area, leaving one car at
the campground so we could hike downhill and then go back up and
retrieve the cars at the top. The view up top is wonderful,
although the overcast prevented a good view of the Olympics we
could see the entire Seattle skyline on the other side of the vista.
We headed downhill after eating lunch at the picnic tables, thought-
fully provided by the DNR. Birds encountered on the hike down
included Hermit Warbler, Townsend's Warbler(?), MacGillivray's
Warbler, Warbling and Hutton's Vireos, Rufous Hummer, Hammond's
and Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Winter Wren, Tanager, Towhee,
Blue Grouse, Hairy Woodpecker and more. The Blue Grouse were heard
drumming near the midway point. The Hairy Woodpecker was a fledg-
ling that was fed at one point by an adult.

I was surprised by the number of Hutton's Vireos; we heard
them at every point of the trail, calling and singing. The singing
at this time of year surprised me, as I thought they would have
already nested and would've ceased singing. I mentioned this to
another fellow I was birding with Sunday, and he said that he heard
them singing all year when he lived in California.

Although Green Mt is DNR land and sports some clearcuts
as well as a lot of second or third growth forest. It's still
a nice area for birding and hiking. I'd like to thank Scott for
his experienced leadership on the trip. He's written a site
guide for the area that will probably be published in the quart-
erly newsletter, Washington Birder." If you don't know about the
newsletter and are interested I can give you subscription details.
If enough people are interested I'll post the info to Tweeters
in general.

Jim Flynn
Renton,
bf519 at scn.org