I uploaded 3 pictures of the White-tailed Ptarmigans on Slate Peak onto my blog at http://birdmeister.wordpress.com. Upon more careful inspection, the female has definitely not completed her molt.

Stefan Schlick
Hillsboro, OR



From: greenfant at hotmail.comTo: tweeters at u.washington.eduDate: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 13:08:10 -0400Subject: [Tweeters] More Okanogan over July 4th: White-tailed Ptarmigan, ... (long)


Originally, Rebecca Atherton and I were going to backpack in the Trapper Creek Wilderness over July 4th, but lingering snow forced us to change our plans. So we headed up to the Okanogan for a heavy dose of birding. We camped at Robinson Canyon near Thorp Thursday night where a single COMMON POORWILL was calling off and on all night. The usuals (Yellow-breasted Chat, Lazuli Bunting, Western Wood-Pewee, Warbing and Cassin's Vireo, ...) were also present. At the little picnic area at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers (Cassimer Bar) were 2 calling LEAST FLYCATCHERS plus several Willow Flycatchers and Gray Catbirds. This was Friday late morning. On the way to Salmon Meadows we ran into Mike "Motel Boy" Fleming who gave us the exact spot for a THREE-TOED WOODPECKER at the yellow gate 3.8mi up from the main campground. Well, the bird was right where he said. We walked about 0.8mi up from there. At 0.5mi we had a pair of PINE GROSBEAK and at 0.8mi two BOREAL CHICKADEES and yet another PINE GROSBEAK. Next morning we had a banner day at Harts Pass. We caught Lazuli Bunting, Warbling and Cassin's Vireo and Williamson's Sapsucker on the road up. At the ranger station were Red Crossbill and a male PINE GROSBEAK. About 0.3mi down the road to Meadows campground (right near a small uncharred grove of conifers) we found another calling (female) PINE GROSBEAK and a pair of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS. The crossbills were feeding mostly on the ground in the burn. We did not encounter snow on the road until the first 180-degree switchback up to Slate Peak. Fox, Savannah and White-crowned Sparrows were common above the ranger station. This currently leaves an about 1.2mi hike to the top of Slate Peak. We saw and heard only one American Pipit, but no Rosy-Finches. Sitting on the top looking down towards the east, we spotted a pair of WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN only about 50yds below us. This area can be accessed better by walking about 150yds into the West Fork Paysaten trail (past the first couple of switchbacks). This trail takes off to the east just below the peak. Taking this trail, the birds were just above the first snow field (still small in size) uphill. Watch of patches of heather. I suspect that these birds were the same that Khanh Tranh reported one week ago. The male is still about 70 white, the female has finished the molt. I'm going to send out a link to a picture later. On the way back down we made another quick stop near Meadows campgound. We were fortunate to run into a birding couple (didn't get their names) who pointed out a LYNX to us. This was an amazing first for everybody! Later on Saturday, Veerys were heard along Wolf Creek Rd near Winthrop and Twisp River Rd just west of Twisp en route to our camp site.at War Creek CG (another 2 were singing there). There currently is a traffic light several miles down Twisp River Rd because of a washed-out bridge (I don't have a mile marker right now). But as we were waiting for the light to turn green, we had a hen HARLEQUIN DUCK with 3 ducklings in the river. Early Sunday morning, we cut across Elbow Canyon where we had a couple of singing Vesper Sparrows towards the Sun Mountain Lodge west of Winthrow. Two DUSKY GROUSE were crossing the road near the lodge and the Beaver Pond area had Red-naped Sapsucker, Barrow's Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, Cassin's and Warbling Vireo, Nashville and McGillivray's Warbler. This is a neat area (there are lots of trails!) and it was only Khanh's posting from last weekend that alerted my to this site. At the intersection of E Chuwach Rd and Deer Way Loop (south end), we were treated to the amazing spectacle of about 15 calling BLACK SWIFTS swirling around us for about 10 minutes. This is open grassland and the birds were really close. Some of the birds were seen below eye level. We then drove up FR37/39 NE of Winthrop through the post-burn wasteland of FR39. This was my first time after the burn as I couldn't make it up there last year. It was heart wrenching to witness that miles of boreal habitat had vanished. We had one THREE-TOED WOODPECKER right at the Roger Lake parking lot, and another one very close to the only visible area of open water at Long Swamp. Otherwise, a Cooper's Hawk, Cassin's Finches and lots of Pine Siskins. We didn't make many stops. After a quick stop for the Lewis's Woodpeckers (we had 8) in the snags as you descend on FR39 into Loomis, we had to make a beeline for home. It was a fantastic trip. Stefan SchlickHillsboro, OR



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