Tweeters, Inland Birders, and Whatcom Birders,

As noted on TWEETERS by Carol Riddell, I was one of the fortunate birders
who managed to find the NORTHERN HAWK OWL near Harts Pass on Tuesday,
September 30. When I saw it, the owl was near the road about 0.1 miles north
of the Meadows Campground, which is about a mile south of Harts Pass on a
spur road.
(This location is in Okanogan County, but only about 1/2 mile from Whatcom
County.)

The bird was very cooperative for me, and I clicked more than 30 photos, 3
of which I have posted on my webpage at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcweber
.

As I was watching, the owl flew down and killed a large rodent which
appeared to be a Northern Pocket Gopher (Thomomys talpoides). It perched in
a dead tree for about 10 minutes with its prey before eventually flying
farther from the road, presumably to make a meal of the gopher.

Many thanks to Khanh Tran and Tom Mansfield, who originally found and
reported the owl on September 27, and to others who have reported it since.
I think there's a good chance the owl will stay in this area for awhile.
Even if the weather isn't too good for the next few days, it will likely be
a few weeks before Harts Pass gets snowed in.

Although I have made many visits to Washington & Rainy Passes on the North
Cascades Highway and to Manning Park in BC, this was my first-ever visit to
Harts Pass. Shame on me for waiting so long. The scenery is spectacular,
especially when viewed from the top of Slate Peak at more than 7400 feet
altitude, and the weather was clear and warm during my visit (reaching about
75 degrees in early afternoon). I took many photos of the surrounding
mountains, and will probably post some of them on my webpage in the near
future.

The birding (other than the owl) was fairly humdrum, with small numbers of
species and individuals-- no ptarmigan or rosy-finches, and the only thing
of much interest was a flock of 9 HORNED LARKS on Slate Peak.

I will certainly try to visit Harts Pass again in the next couple of years,
to find some of the boreal/montane bird species reported by Khanh and
others. But even if there were no birds in the area, the place would be
worth visiting for the scenery, the wildflowers, and the mountain hiking
opportunities.

Good luck and good birding,

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net