Hi Tweets,

Friday the 13th of July, a friend and business associate from S.
California, Greg Homel and I birded the North Cascades from Washington Pass
to Slate Peak and then back along Highway 20. We arrived at the meadow at
the Washington Pass Overlook at about 8:30 a.m. and found SAVANNAH SPARROWS,
juncos, CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS etc. After a few minutes, we heard a bubbling
finch-like song which we both initially passed off as a Cassin's Finch. It
seemed louder and more fervent than most Cassin's songs I have heard so we
made our way over to the far side of the meadow where we discovered a female
PINE GROSBEAK singing from the middle of a fir tree. She flushed fairly
quickly and flew to the opposite of the meadow (back towards the road) and
landed at the tip of a dead tree and continued her singing. We were both
able to get good looks at this point. Soon thereafter we heard the same
song emanating from the area just adjacent and guessed that we might have
the male. Within minutes, the male in all his glory appeared in the same
tree, singing away. He flew back away from the road and which point, I
returned to the car to get my scope. After returning we relocated the male
back closer to the road and were able to get wonderful looks as he sang and
preened. WOW!! A jinx was finally lifted.

We birded the rest of the day in the Slate Peak area with the highlight
being a female BLUE GROUSE about halfway up the road. Despite extensive
searching for Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, Three-toed Woodpeckers and other
specialties, we pretty much struck out. Mountain birding can be tough. On
the way back, we stopped by Washington Pass where the Pine Grosbeak was
encountered again. A stop at Klipchuck Campground yielded a Red-naped
Sapsucker and Newhalem had BLACK SWIFTS over the bridge near the North
Cascades Ranger Station.

I just wanted to extend a special, heartfelt THANK YOU to all who responded
to my request for information on Pine Grosbeaks, specifically thanks to
Patrick Sullivan, Steve Aslanian and Nancy Taylor for their good info on the
Washington Pass site. And thanks to everyone for their continuing trip
reports to this delightful spot. Tweeters can be such an excellent forum
with so many generous people ready and willing to help out. It was such fun
to finally catch up with this bird.

Incidentally, Patrick suggested that these birds may stay put for a while
and I would have to agree with him. They are definetly worth the trip.

Good Luck and Good Birding,
Ted Kenefick
Seattle, WA
tedk at nwlink.com