Tweeters,

What a wonderful couple of days I had leisurely birding around the
Leavenworth area this weekend! There is still a matter of an
unidentified sparrow, though...

A male RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER was the highlight on Saturday on a trail
about 10 miles up Icicle Creek. Beautiful!

Blackbird Island on Sunday morning, right in Leavenworth, turned up a
SAY'S PHEOBE and the closest, most beautiful look I have ever gotten at
a male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. Also of note, I also saw several DOWNY
WOODPECKERS there, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (Audubon's) and a sparrow that
I was unable to identify (it looked very dull greyish to me and had a
single black breast spot -- no visable breast streaking... I didn't get
a really good look at the face pattern, if it had one).

At the Sleeping Lady Lodge, I stopped to look for the WHITE-HEADED
WOODPECKER which I saw for the first time there last summer and sure
enough, as if on cue, it was the first bird I saw when I got out of the
car! A beautiful female, foraging low on the trunks of douglas fir
trees, calling loudly as she flew from tree to tree. Moments later I
heard a CHIPPING SPARROW and then saw it foraging on the ground.
Violet-green, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows were present
also.

The highlight of my weekend, though, was yesterday when we stopped at
Blewitt Pass and drove up a forest service road and then walked along a
ski trail. We were looking for a Calliope Hummingbird. Instead, we got
a NORTHERN GOSHAWK! It flew right overhead and was unmistakable. I
have been wanting to see that bird for years.

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my inquiry about where to
bird around Leavenworth. I can't wait to go back.

Lauren Braden
Advocate for Wildlife Habitat
Seattle Audubon Society
8050 35th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115
PHONE: 206 523-8243 x14
FAX: 206 528-7779
laurenb at seattleaudubon.org
www.seattleaudubon.org
Seattle Audubon Society protects birds and the natural environment by
involving volunteers and the community in education, advocacy,
preservation, science and enjoyment