Tweeters,

I left Auburn about 10 p.m. sat. night and drove over Cayuse Pass to near
Packwood at the area where the Ovenbird has been observed. Ken's directions
to the site are very good. Exactly at the site is a pullout where I was
able to nose into and sleep several hours in the van. At 5:05 a.m. I first
heard it calling. I listened to it for about 20 minutes before deciding to
roll out of bed and go find it. It took me then until 6:05 to find the bird
even though I heard it calling right in front of me every 15 seconds or so.
I had to hike up the steep embankment just off the road about 30 yards
downhill from the marker. This area is easy to move through and I somehow
chose the most treacherous route up and ended up slipping and
sliding/falling 10 or 15 feet back down. After a few scrapes, I finally
succeeded and was able to locate the bird and observe it for 45 minutes as
it sang continuously from the same perch even as I circumnavigated the bird
360 degrees. I finally left the bird at 6:50 in the same locale that it had
been at all morning. When I left it was still singing away. No other
birders had been there this morning by 7:00.



Michael Willison
sendtomichael at hotmail.com
Auburn, WA
(253) 939-4986

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