Hi Tweets,

Today I hiked (mostly) and birded (just a little)
parts of Snohomish County, focusing on the Darrington
area. We decided to take the 4.5 mile hike to the top
of Mt. Higgins. Quite an elevation gain on the trail
(about 3200 feet) but well worth the views from the
top. I briefly saw a bird in poor light near Myrtle
Lake on the Mt. Higgins trail which appeared to be a
possible Black-backed Woodpecker. Actually, there
were two individuals calling to each other and
interacting, however, I couldn't recognize the calls
they were making. Unfortunately they were on the
opposite side of the tree and when I cam around to
that side to look at them the flew off. They were the
size of Hairy Woodpeckers, but the backs appeared to
be totally solid black as they were flying. I didn't
notice any light or white patched on the backs or
wings of the birds while the flew away. Again the
light was very poor and I only had a brief look. This
sighting is far from certain and highly unlikely.
Other highlights of the trip included:

Northern Shoveler: A brood on the Fortson Mill Ponds.
A nice breeding record for Snohomish County.

Swainson's Hawk: Saw the dark morph indivdual near
the north end of the Everett Sewage Ponds from I-5
this morning heading to Darrington, but did not see
the bird while heading back south.

Ruffed Grouse: Great looks at a hen with her brood
crossing C-post road.

Bank Swallow: At the Stilliguamish River Crossing on
C-post road.

American Redstart: Atleast three individuals. There
was one singing at the Fortson Mill Ponds, and two
singing on C-Post Road just before the river crossing.

Nothing else really unusual but we did see lots of
different species as we ascended the Mt. Higgins trail
and looked around on some of the other side roads in
the area. Overall it was a very pleasant day with
lots of birds.

Michael Dossett
Bothell, Washington
Phainopepla at yahoo.com

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