Monday, 3 Sep 2007
Lewis' Woodpeckers along the 99 road on the east side of the Mt St Helens NVM to Windy Ridge Viewpoint. What we thought was a migrant 'flight' of Lewis's Woodpeckers was observed. Individuals seemed to be moving southerly and westerly to a high rocky promontory just north of the trailhead for Independence Pass. From that point they were flycatching. Lots of flying ants in the air and perhaps were caught in a updraft that blew the insects up the slope to the waiting flycatching woodpeckers. Perhaps the birds we saw moving towards this point had been out 'huckleberrying' or ??? There didn't seem to be movement south from that point, as we hiked up the trail to gain the ridgetop, hoping to catch some migrants moving on south. Didn't happen!
Was this 'flight' of Lewis's Woodpeckers from nesters and nestlings that resided amongst the snags in the blast zone of Mt. St. Helens?
Will they be migrating down the west slope of the Cascades from this point?
John & L S Allinger
Visiting Mt St Helens NVM