I haven?t seen any reports on the Paradise ptarmigan since Paul Webster?s post in mid-August, so thought I?d post that Jeff Hickman and I found 6 white-tailed ptarmigan (1 male, 5 female/immature) just east of Panorama Point at 2 p.m. on September 25.

Just east of the large snowfield east of Panorama Point there is a side trail that goes into a large rocky outcrop. I walked to the end of this (only about 20 yards) and the ptarmigan were feeding along the streambed below. I initially heard them, and was then able to locate them along the stream. They were not visible from the Skyline trail. We also saw a gray-crowned rosy finch while we were watching the ptarmigan, and a large flock of rosy finches flew over us at the top of the Golden Gate trail.

Hikers were having a difficult time crossing the Panorama Point snowfield. I would recommend heading up to the point via the Golden Gate trail; this way you can avoid having to cross the snowfield.

Mike Donahue
Seattle