Rob and tweets,

I would like to agree strongly with your sentiments for dippers, and the
request for a better stewardship of excess fishing line. I am a
flyfisherman myself, and too many times have I pulled other anglers'
snarls of lines, bait containers, and oversized hooks from my favorite
rivers, and the associated wildlife that perishes as a result. It doesn't
take that much effort to put something in a pocket or backpack to be dealt
with properly later, and I wish that more of my kind would take the time
to do so. I fear that fisherman as a whole get a bad reputation for the
acts of a few careless slobs that call themselves fishermen.

With regards to the keepers of the river, I find that to be a particularly
well-chosen title. They are a ubiquitous symbol of a wild, clean river,
and my constant companions on the river. My trip isn't complete until a
blur of blue-grey shoots past me, lands on a rock in the middle of a
riffle, and exhibits their typical motions, a behavior that earned the
affectionate moniker "Teeter-butt" from my great-granddad, also a
flyfisher. I run into a few other birds regularly enough to compete for
the river keeper title, Spotted Sandpiper, Harlequin Duck, and Common
Merganser, but to be fair, these birds don't guard the river year-round as
the dipper does. Anywho, thanks again for your post, Rob, I really
enjoyed it.

-Chris Duke
Bellingham, WA
dukec at cc.wwu.edu

> Today was the last of a three day trip up and around Mt. Rainier. Saw
> ptarmigans of course, to keep my record going, interestingly enough not in
> the locations listed but about 100 feet uphill from the Paradise Visitor
> Center in the trees. Today was a kestrel swooping and diving along Mt.
> Burroughs above Sunrise on the east side. There were several types of
> insects, including small grasshoppers and it was obviously going for
> something close to the ground, it was very dramatic, soaring low over the
> slopes, then making quick pivots and turns to grab something small.It was
> cool to watch it maneuver so precisely. On the hike down the wonderland
> trail saw a redtail go after a ground squirrel. The hawk came from the
> downhill side, moving fast uphill, maybe 6 feet off the ground. There was
> a
> squirrel on a outcrop, the hawk swooped, then dropped into some trees so
> we
> could not tell if it was successful or not.
>
> Sad story. While camped on the Ohanapecosh river we were entertained by a
> juv. ouzel begging food from an adult. The juv. sat on a rock midstream as
> several of us swam in the wonderful cool, green water. (this is the only
> river in the park which does not come off a glacier and so is very choice
> for swimming) One of the parents found a drowned ouzel, with its foot
> entangled in abandoned fishing line. It was very sad, and we held a nice
> little ceremony and decided that ouzels would hereby be titled, Keepers of
> the river, untied it and let its body follow its spirit downstream.
>
> The keepers of the river are some of my all-time favorite birds, so if you
> are fisherperson as well as a birder, please do what you can to limit how
> much line you leave behind.
>
> Rob Sandelin
> South Snohomish County at the headwaters of Ricci Creek
> Sky Valley Environments <http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm>
> Field skills training for student naturalists
> Floriferous at msn.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu
> [mailto:TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Linda Adams
> Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 3:05 PM
> To: Tweeters
> Subject: Ptarmigan Ptimes Ptwo (and map info)
>
>
> Hi Tweets--
>
> I went up to see the Panorama Point Ptarmigans today at Paradise, Mt.
> Rainier. I saw two males in the same place mentioned in previous posts.
> I
> apparently missed the female and chicks by a few minutes. A great day, a
> great hike (start early to avoid the hot sun!), and two life birds
> (American
> Pipit was new, too; no doubt I have seen or heard these before but not
> identified as such).
>
> By the way, a map of the Paradise area trails is available online at
>
> http://www.npsgov/mora/general/maps/paradise.pdf
>
> Thanks for the postings, and thanks also to Craig, whom I met on the
> trail
> and gave me directions to where they were this morning, and to Jay, who
> graciously allowed me to look at them through his scope.
>
> Linda Adams
> Puyallup, WA
> NWBirder at xemaps.com
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