Dear Tweeters:

I am going to visit Washington State from N Carolina during the first
two weeks of August, and one of the main purposes of this trip is to
hike around Mt Rainier.

I am, of course, birding as well, and while at Mt Rainier will have
the Ptarmigan, Rosy Finches, and the Black Backed and Three Toed
Woodpeckers as my four special targets. However, since I have
basically not ventured west at all this year I would also be
interested in such common Western species as Western Tanagers, Gray
Jays, Hermit and Black Throated Gray Warblers. I do have Wahl and
Paulsen's book but their section on Mt Rainier Nat park is rather
brief.

I have gone to the Nat park before (but not for intensive birding) and
found that once one commits to going in to one of entrances it is best
to concentrate on that part of the park unless one wants to spend a
lot of time driving around to another. So, my question is: given these
4 special targets, as well as a dearth of common western endemics on
my year list which part of the park would you folks suggest I
concentrate on. I would greatly appreciate any specific tips on
trails, lakes etc, or any info on any web-sites which deal with
birding in the national park in any detail.

Thanks in advance

Shantanu Phukan
Chapel Hill, North Carolina




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SHANTANU PHUKAN
Assistant Professor of Indian Literature, Urdu and Hindi
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill