Tweeters,

Yesterday, June 12, I decided to do some high-altitude birding in the
Skykomish River valley in King and Snohomish Counties, as far east
as Stevens Pass. However, some of the most interesting birds I found
were at valley-bottom level.

I had some generally unremarkable birding along the Johnson Ridge road
(Forest Road 6520, leading eastward and upward from the paved Forest
Road 65 north of Skykomish), punctuated only by a BARRED OWL which
flew across the road about a mile from FR 65 as I was on my way
back down. However, as I approached US Highway 2 on FR 65, a large
meadow underneath a powerline on the east side of FR 65 (0.4 miles N of
Highway 2) looked inviting. As I was crossing the meadow, a sparrow
with white outer tail feathers burst out of the grass at my feet, and landed
in an alder at the edge of the meadow. I was able to approach closely
enough to get a good look at the streaked breast, unstreaked white
abdomen, and white eye-ring of a VESPER SPARROW-- surely an
unusual bird in King County in June!

Then, while I was scrutinizing at least 10 VAUX'S SWIFTS which were feeding
above the clearing, in hopes of finding a BLACK SWIFT (never did see one),
a COMMON NIGHTHAWK appeared in their midst, hunting for insects in mid-
afternoon. Another new one for my still unimpressive King County list.

Next on the agenda was the Stevens Pass ski area, which I had never
birded before, other than a momentary stop on my way east. An hour of
birding between 5 and 6 PM produced more activity than expected
around the base of the deserted ski runs, including 22 species, many
of which were singing. Nothing very unusual, but birds seen included
4 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS and 3 HERMIT THRUSHES, as well as
some "east-side" species such as LINCOLN'S and CHIPPING SPARROWS
and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, which probably don't breed very far
west of the summit.

A short evening excursion around the east end of Sultan (339th Avenue),
north of Highway 2, produced a singing LAZULI BUNTING and another
COMMON NIGHTHAWK, this one vocalizing as if on territory. On my way
back toward Monroe, even though it was almost too late for birding, I
decided to drive along Ben Howard Road on the south side of the
Skykomish River, instead of following Highway 2 on the north side. Near
the intersection of Ben Howard Road and the Cedar Ponds Road, I
observed two more COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, both vocalizing as they were
feeding overhead.

Nighthawks may still be easy to find in the South Sound counties such as
Thurston and Pierce, but I have seen very few nighthawks in recent years
from Seattle north to Vancouver, and most of those have been likely fall
migrants (late August). So it was encouraging to see 4 nighthawks in
3 locations in the Skykomish River valley in King and Snohomish Counties.

And oh yes, some TURKEY VULTURE sightings for Diann. One flew past
right at the intersection of Forest Road 65 and Highway 2 near Skykomish,
and on my way southward, a group of 5 were circling over Interstate 5 just
north of Burlington in Skagit County (where they seem to be getting commoner
these days).

Good luck and good birding,

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net