Hello Tweeters,

I will be visiting your wonderful state from September 17-23 and I was
wondering if any of you wouldn't mind providing some suggestions on
finding the species below. I have a special interest in finding the
mountain-dwelling specialties of your area, and I will only have one, or
maybe two days in which to try in this habitat. I will be based in the
Seattle area, and am debating whether to go north to the general area of
Mt. Baker, or south to Mt. Rainier. There may be a chance that I could
go to both locations, but I am not sure. I will also be traveling down
the coast, passing Hurricane Ridge and the rest of Olympic National
Park, and through Ocean Shores ending up in Portland, OR.

Any thoughts you may have on which area will give a better chance for
the birds below will be greatly appreciated (or which be more accessable
in mid-September since I'm not sure when the roads start closing for
winter). I have been reading with some interest the sightings in the
"Nile burn" area as well as the ptarmigans on Mt. Rainier.

Highlands species sought:

Blue Grouse
Mountain Quail
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Spotted Owl
Red-naped Sapsucker (too late?)
Williamson's Sapsucker (too late?)
Three-toed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Clark's Nutcracker
American Dipper
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

I also have an interest in any of the following anywhere else along the
way:

Trumpeter Swan
Western Screech-Owl
Vaux's Swift (too late?)
Rock Wren
Golden-crowned Sparrow (too early?)
Harris's Sparrow (??)

Thanks very much in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Geoff Malosh
Pittsburgh, PA

maloshgk at stargate.net