Subject: [Tweeters] Naches Pass birding
Date: May 26 23:27:26 2007
From: Matt Dufort - zeledonia at gmail.com


Hi Tweets,



I spent the day up around Naches Pass in far southeastern King County,
hoping to scare up a few eastside or mountain species just inside the county
borders. The roads to Windy Gap and Kelly Butte are still snowed in, but I
was able to drive almost all the way up FR 70 to the trailhead for the
Naches Trail. As it has in the past, the area produced a number of
interesting birds. Highlights included:



2 MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, about 200 yards west of Naches Pass



1 probable HERMIT WARBLER, on territory in the patch of uncut woodland at
mile 15 on FR 70 ? given how similar Townsend?s x Hermit hybrids can look to
pure Hermit Warblers, I didn?t see this bird well enough to be sure it
wasn?t a hybrid. It lacked any yellow or streaking on the upper breast, and
had a yellow face and forecrown, but I never got a look at the back or the
middle and hind-crown. It stayed high in the firs, and rarely presented
good viewing opportunities (I followed it for over an hour trying to get a
better look). It and a nearby Townsend?s Warbler appeared to have
overlapping territories.



2 hybrid Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsuckers ? as well as two apparently
pure Red-breasted Sapsuckers; one hybrid looked a lot like a Red-breasted,
the other much more like a Red-naped



Pair of Townsend?s Solitaires along FR 7030



Sooty Grouse heard along FR 70





A few birds that were probably late migrants provided nice surprises. The
most unusual was a Western Meadowlark in one of the high meadows, at around
4900 feet elevation. In another high meadow was an American Pipit, foraging
out on the snow. A Northern Harrier soared over, quite high up, headed
north.



The typical montane/foothill breeders were prominent, with numerous Fox
Sparrows, Lincoln?s Sparrows, Townsend?s Warblers, Varied & Hermit thrushes,
and Pacific-slope, Hammond?s, and Olive-sided flycatchers singing/calling at
various spots. Try as I might, I could not find a single Chipping Sparrow.
I wonder if they move into these high areas a bit later in the spring.





On the way home, I stopped by a few sites in the Kent Valley. Most of the
shorebirds seem to have passed through, with only Killdeer and Spotted
Sandpipers at most sites. I did find one Lesser Yellowlegs at the Emerald
Downs. Blue-winged Teal have definitely arrived; there were 4 at the
Emerald Downs and scattered individuals elsewhere. A few Lazuli Buntings
were singing at the Kent Ponds, and I saw one lingering Ruddy Duck from the
grassy knoll along 64th Ave.



This is by far my favorite time of the year for birding. Diversity is at
its peak, birds are singing, and the days are long but still getting longer.
And three-day weekends definitely don?t hurt.



Good birding,
Matt Dufort

Seattle, WA


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