Hi Tweeters,

With the good weather this weekend, my partner and I decided to postpone the
overdue yard work and dirty laundry for another day and head to Table
Mountain near Mt. Baker. After all, you have such a narrow window for this
type of birding and hiking before the snow sets in.

The weather was spectacular, sunny with no breeze. Th birding was rather
quiet but almost everything we saw was a real treat. Despite hordes of
people along the Table Mt. Trail, we managed to find 3 WHITE TAILED
PTARMIGANS along with other surprises.

Heather's Meadow produced several BLACK SWIFTS and a couple of perky,
vocerifous PINE GROSBEAKS. Further up the road, we had several other pine
grosbeaks along with some GRAY JAYS.

While looking for ptarmigans on top of Table Mountain, we had two LAPLAND
LONGSPURS mixed in with several horned larks and water pipits along the many
small snowfields and water puddles. Other good birds include a flock of two
dozen GRAY CROWNED ROSYFINCHES including immatures.

After an hour and half search for the elusive alpine chickens, we decided to
sit down for a while and have a snack. All of a sudden a ptarmigan breezed
by followed by an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK in its pursuit!

The ptarmigan's white wings and tips were quite conspicous as it skyrocketed
down to some rocky debris. After the ptarmigan landed, I managed to see it
scurry with quick speed before it disappeared. The grouse was alot more
agile in the air and land, than I expected. It flew very fast!

Not too long after, I detected some quiet gluttural sound nearby and managed
to find another WHITE TAILED PTARMIGAN. The bird was laying very still and
close to some rocks, relying on its cryptic plumage to blend in with the
surroundings. The bird defecated, and I was able to see what ptarmigan
droppings look like for future searches. I did get some close up shots of
the droppings.

There were also "dust bowls" in the soft dirt where the bird might have been
dust bathing.

As we started to hike down the trail, I spotted another ptarmigan in a lush
area of vegetation with blooming lupines. It was very beautiful. I was
surprised to see them still in bloom being this late but Mt. Baker does it
alot of snow.

Another nice surprise to end our lovely trip, were 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS
along the snowfields.

Website and photos at:

http://www.pbase.com/spruce_grouse/updated_photos&page=all

Good birding,

Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon)