Tweeters,



Having read Khan Tranh and Scott Atkinson on North Cascades birding, I set
aside a couple of days to check out the areas mentioned. I made some
progress on my wish list of target birds, and I did find some beautiful
scenery and excellent birding.



Thursday, August 21: I arrived at Easy Pass trailhead at 9:30 AM. The
parking area was pretty quiet bird wise, except for the occasional call of
NORTHERN FLICKERS, and I headed up the trail. This is a trail for fit
persons carried light loads, which really does not describe me on that day.
I would recommend plenty of water and a walking stick and, as the incline is
relatively steep and the upper trail is jagged stones ranging in size from a
cherry to a fist. You should expect these stones to shift with almost every
step. The initial third of the trail is dense woods-I glimpsed one or two
birds which I was unable to identify. After the second major crossing of
the creek, the terrain was brushy and alive with what seemed to be mostly
warblers-I identified WILSONS'S and TOWNSENDS', and in all probability
spotted an ORANGE CROWNED. Views were brief as the birds flitted in and out
of the brush. A bit further a hummingbird, likely rufous, sailed over my
head. A sprinkling of OREGON JUNCOS tsked at me from the brush. The upper
third of the trail zig-zags a talus slope, occasionaly touching the woods at
one edge. I was surprised to find myself about arms length from a marmot,
who stood on a rock at the edge of the trail looking like he wanted to get
to know me. Nearby I spotted a ROBIN. At this point the views became
spectacular, with peaks in every direction and snowfields here and there.
It struck me as odd that three quarters of the way up this 3.5 mi trail, I
could easily hear the unmuffled, shingle ripping roar of motorcycles on Rt
20 going through their gears--must be something about the natural acoustics.
Near the top four screaming CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS settled on the gray snags.
I had never seen this lovely bird before. A the top a marmot stood wating
to greet me below National Forest boundary marker. At 2:00 PM on this
particular day no birds were moving or calling, but the view alone was
worth the ticket. The trip down offered more views, but no new birds. On
the way back to Marblemount I spotted a few RAVENS.



Friday, August 22: I was at the Easy Pass Trailhead at around 7:45 AM.
This time I found more birds, including what appeared to be PURPLE FINCHES
at the very top of some the tall conifers. A flock of about 100 alleged
WHITE WINGED CROSSBILLS passed overhead. I have never seen this bird
before, but they were finchy and made the short rattling noise on my Stokes
bird call tape. I would rather be more certain on my identification of a
life bird, but what's to be done? I saw other birds high up which I could
not identify from the bottom views I got.



I headed over to the Mt Hardy burn. As I parked my car a hummingbird
hovered over my windshield-the mostly white gorget said female or immature
RUFOUS. I checked out the trail, which seems to have a fair bit of fallen
wood obstructing it and decided not to hike it. After entering the Burn
parking area there is a lane that goes left about 200 yards past some gravel
piles and ends in low brush at a circular area with a fire pit in the
middle. While heading down this lane what appeared to be a Merlin flew
past and disappeared into the woods. At the end of the lane I could see
straight ahead in the distance a pair of PILEATED WOODPECKERS working the
top of a conifer with a bare spike on top. Here's where it got interesting.
While watching these woodpeckers thrashing in the foliated part of the tree,
I saw a third woodpecker land on the bare spike with his back toward me. He
was smaller than the PILEATEDS, and his back was entirely blue-black. The
sharp tail feathers showed clearly against the gray wood, and his head was
turned sideways, showing a long, pointed bill. My view was brief, as he
flew after a few second, showing flashes of whitish areas. I saw no yellow
on his crown, nor was the angle right for that. I conclude that this was
the aforementioned BLACK BACK WOODPECKER, even though it seems like an
amazing coincidence. He did not return. Leaving the area I had a good look
at a NORTHERN FLICKER and three CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS passed overhead.



Back on Rt 20, just above Swamp Creek two CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS feasting on
grasshoppers covering a roadside slope proved easy close up photo subjects.
At Rainy Pass picnic area TOWNSEND'S, YELLOW RUMPED and probable BLACK AND
WHITE (even with a photo I am not sure on this one) WARBLERS shot from tree
to tree. The GRAY JAYS being fed by picnickers made easy photo opps.
Washington Pass picnic area turned up a STELLER'S JAY, but no other birds.
I used my excellent birding binoculars to watch climbers scaling the
Liberty Bell, and headed back.



One detour brought me to Channel Drive (north of La Conner) at about 3 PM.
This seemed to be high tide, and few shore birds were about other than a
spotless SPOTTED SANDPIPER, two GREEN HERONS, half a dozen BELTED
KINGFISHERS, and two GREAT BLUE HERONS.



Marvin S. Hoekstra

Sammamish, WA

marvin dot hoekstra at verizon dot net