Saddle Mt, Clatsop Co., OR 11/08/2001 0720-1020hr

I hiked up Saddle Mt all the way to the saddle (2950ft).
The weather was warm (45?F by my thermometer) even though
there had been ice on hwy 26 coming up. Wind was from
the east, which explains the temperature.

A RED-TAILED HAWK was playing the updrafts of the summit
and kited motionlessly for several minutes. An AMERICAN
KESTREL was at the saddle in a fir tree.

I had a flock of 30 silent finches fly over while I sat
at the saddle which could have been rosy-finches or just
as probably crossbills (though silent crosbills are a
novelty around here).

Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Red-tailed Hawk 1 [1]
American Kestrel 1 [2]
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1
Common Raven 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 16
Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 2
Winter Wren 6
American Dipper 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 35
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Varied Thrush 21
Townsend's Warbler 3
Red Crossbill 5
Pine Siskin 3
unidentified finch 30

Footnotes:

[1] kiting motionlessly in a thermal over the summit
[2] at the saddle sitting in a fir tree

Total number of species seen: 15

--
Mike Patterson When I despair, I remember
Astoria, OR that all through history
celata at pacifier.com the way of truth and love have always won.
There have been tyrants, and murderers,
and for a time they can seem invincible,
but in the end they always fall.
Think of it...always.
- Mahatma Gandhi

http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html