Subject: Mt. St. Helen's birds
Date: Aug 21 19:28:56 2001
From: Cascadebirdwatch at aol.com - Cascadebirdwatch at aol.com
My sister and I drove to Windy Ridge on Monday, August 20th. We passed the visitor's center about 8:30 AM and just up the road, Rt 25, in the large old evergreens, we saw an owl perched by the road. We watched him for about ten minutes, he would go from one tree to another when a vehicle passed. I got pictures of him and I am relatively sure he was a Barred Owl.
On up the mountain road, #99, at the Blast Edge Viewpoint, we watched bluebirds for a long time. They appeared to be juveniles, as they were downy and the colors were not as distinct as adults, definitely not adult males. We thought we were seeing Western Bluebirds as there seemed to be buff to light chestnut color on the breasts of most. Some seemed to have all light gray breasts but being the novices we are, we assumed they were all one species and thought that was Western. A ranger later told us they have only Mountain Bluebirds up there. Can anyone confirm or deny that for me?
Also, at Meta Lake, we watched hummingbirds and tried to identify them. We think they were Caliope Hummingbirds. Can anyone let us know if that is correct or not?
Thanks for the help.
Georgia John
South Prairie, WA
mailto: cascadebirdwatch at aol.com