Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for Jamie and Co. BUT:

Hello all, my girlfriend and I went up to Mt. Rainier for another attempt
at those W/T PTARMIGAN. We got a late start and ended up at the spot after
the large snowfield near Panarama Point at about 1:30. There was a family
of three GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH there which was nice to see, female and
male feeding a begging youngster. Also here was a lone AMERICAN PIPIT. We
sat on the boulders for a while scanning the stream of water, as I was
staring off into the distance I thought about Ruth and Patrick saying that
they saw them near the edge of the snowfield so I gave it a shot. Sure
enough the moment I started scanning the edge I saw a gray "rock" with
"snow" underneath it...other words a very cryptic male W/T PTARMIGAN! So
folks, let's not throw in the towel on these birds quite yet. Watched him
for a half hour from 1:45 to 2:15 (I conned her into staying longer by
"reflecting" about how this will probably be the only Ptarmigan I ever see
my entire life! Wait, that's probably true, how sad). He eventually moved
around pecking quite a bit at some of the vegetation. We then heard a
couple of Ravens fly over giving a croak and he froze. We had a heck of a
time trying to pick him out from the rocks again. When he was standing
still he was quite difficult to find. His back had some of the rusty
tinges shown in the Sibley guide for the "Adult late summer," although I
would not agree with the rest of his drawing on this one. Does he mean
Juvenile late summer? Anyway, it looked much like Sibley's adult male
breeding painting only with a bit of the rusty feathering in the scapulars
and a grayer face without the heavy red comb over the eye (instead a
limited red crescent...due to hormone shifts?). I would recommend sitting
in one spot on these boulders and scanning for movement, while giving
occasional glances to the edge of the snowfield. I should also note that,
since Sunday, much of the snow in the park is receding so you might head
over soon if interested in these birds.

Other birds of note:
5 Gray Jay (noticed one juvenile)
2 Clark's Nutcracker
3 Violet-green Swallows (at the highest I've ever had them)
2 Mountain Chickadee
7 Am. Pipit (1 juvenile begging)
2 Red Crossbill

Mammals of note:
1 Hoary Marmot (had to work for this one today, had three on Sunday)
4 "Cascade" Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
1 Pika (finally! Heard them for years without a sighting. Today we got a
photo)
If interested in WA mammals check out the Burke Museum page:
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/mammalogy/mamwash/mamwash.html

Also at Nisqually NWR yesterday I had 1 NASHVILLE WARBLER flitting in the
willows near the first canal on the way to McAllister Creek. No chips, no
song snatches, and not interesting in my pishing...definitely on the move!
Anyone see these on the westside much during fall migration? Also here on
the way back in the late morning I again flushed the juvenile GREEN HERON.
Along McAllister Creek I saw 3 juvenile GR. YELLOWLEGS (and for those who
care: look for the two-toned bill and clean/even upperpart
spotting-especially on the folded wing-for telling apart adults from
juveniles) and one juvenile LESSER YELLOWLEGS (near some KILLDEER for a
nice size comparison, also note the all black bill and a blurred streaking
on breast...though I find this one more subjective). Guess I'm one of the
more analytical watchers...and after rereading this it sounds quite nerdy.
Oh well, I'm the one who walks around Olympia with the t-shirt saying "I
watched the Sharp-tailed Grouse dancing at Crex Meadows"...nerdy and proud
of it!!

Good luck with those shorebirds and all the rest!

--- Jason Paulios
--- jpaulios at earthlink.net
--- Olympia, WA