Hello all,
Many thanks to those who gave me advice for finding Ptarmigan at Sunrise on
7/25. And many thanks for the bug repellent I was able to borrow in the
parking lot from some hikers - the need for which was a little surprise for
this California birder. I did not succeed with the Ptarmigan, but had a
wonderful day with beautiful weather and wild flowers. The mammals were
great-- Marmots, Golden mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks at Fremont Tower
(almost brave enough to beg for a handout) and 3 Mt Goats (of a flock of 24
seen earlier by others.) The work crew at Fremont Tower, who came in
Monday, has not seen any Ptarmigan since then, they reported.

BIRDS:
8-10 Clark's Nutcrackers - feeding young
3 American Robins
1 American Pipit a short way up the trail to Burrow's Mountain from Frozen
Lake
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 female Calliope Hummingbird, on the trail down from Frozen Lake
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Common Raven

Unidentified Birds (suggestions? Probably just unknowable)
1- small yellow/green bird about 100 yards up the Burrows trail from Frozen
Lake--pure guess but MacGillivray's Warbler? In one of the small trees -
flew out, circled, and landed again. What else would be up at that
elevation?

1 bird calling with a loud whistle "pip", then a two-note whistle,
apparently from the top of a tree at the start of the trail down from Frozen
Lake -- it called several times (at this point I had not seen it), when it
flew it was tannish, landed aways away (too far to really see) and called
again. The call is like Pine Grosbeaks I have seen in the Sierra Nevada, but
I don't have lots of Pine Grosbeak experience.

When I got to Frozen Lake in the AM, I met two young men with just binocs
who reported a Prairie Falcon in Berkeley Park and Gray-crowned Rosy
Finches. They had not found Ptarmigan, the object of their search.

I stopped briefly at White Creek campground as I drove out-- Vaux's Swifts,
Townsend's Warbler, Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Gray Jays.

On highway 410, I passed a dead bird on the left side of the road, with
another standing and picking around it. I turned around, got a quick photo;
the live bird flew away and the dead bird was a Ruffed Grouse, red morph. I
moved its body under an underground wiring sign, out of the road; it's
before MP 34 heading back to Seattle. I also took pictures in case anyone is
interested. I can post them to Pbase.

Thanks again to everyone for your help-- a great birding community!

Kris Olson
Menlo Park, CA