Today I headed up the North Cascades Highway to hike up Mt Hardy in eastern
Skagit County. Nearly all the bird activity was on the hike up with only
two new species found on the way down.

Mt Hardy (0830-1430)
accipiter sp (1, an adult Cooper's/Goshawk seen flying very far below)
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Sooty Grouse (2, I flushed a small chick before sighting its mom nearby)
Vaux's Swift (6)
Rufous Hummingbird (3)
Hairy Woodpecker (3)
American Three-toed Woodpecker (2, heard drumming but unfortunately never
saw either one. Nice comparisons with Hairy, Flicker & Pileated drums
though.)
Northern Flicker (7)
Pileated Woodpecker (1)
Olive-sided Flycatcher (6)
DUSKY FLYCATCHER (1, Came in to pygmy-owl whistling. Calling and flicking
tail frequently before flying off distantly)
Cedar Waxwing (5)
ROCK WREN (1, Above and around to the right of the rocky outcrop above the
main part of the burn. Saw well as it ate a bug and flew higher up the
mountain. Called several times. There are surprisingly few Skagit records
but I would think they are regular at this location. Scott Atkinson
reported 4 here several summers ago.)
Townsend's Solitaire (1 juv)
Hermit Thrush (3)
Mountain Chickadee (6)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (8)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (4)
Brown Creeper (1)
Gray Jay (2)
Clark's Nutcracker (5)
Common Raven (1)
Warbling Vireo (5)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1)
Townsend's Warbler (4)
MacGillivray's Warbler (2)
Wilson's Warbler (1)
Western Tanager (3)
Chipping Sparrow (4, also 8 more just E on the road at Swamp Creek including
juvs)
Dark-eyed Junco (10)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (6 flew over as a flock just above the burn,
calling)
Cassin's Finch (1)
Red Crossbill (2)
Pine Siskin (40)
Evening Grosbeak (25, mostly lower down, many at Swamp Creek also)

On the way back I stopped at Alice Bay at Samish Island where there were 73
Semipalmated Plovers, 100 Western & 50 Least Sandpipers.

Good Birding,
Ryan Merrill
Kirkland, WA