Tweeters,
Sorry for the late post, but yesterday in the late afternoon, Kate Tillotson and I witnessed a wild flurry of activity at Washington Pass in the North Cascades. Large numbers of moths (species unknown) were food for over 200 Evening Grosbeaks, and other birds including Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Gray Jays, and Red-breasted Nuthatches among other species. 100's of Pine Siskins were also present, adding to the cacophony of sounds. The amount of constant activity created something that seemed to be as close to what we have seen at ant swarms in Central and South America. Don't know if I have described it well, but it was one of those truly amazing birding experiences.
Of note for the mycologists in the group, there was a great profusion of Boletus edulis (King Boletes) and also some fruiting of Laetiporus sulphureus (Chicken of the woods) as well.


Barry Levine
Seattle
levineb at bsd405.org