Hey Tweets,

My mother and I went up to Mt. Rainier to try and get a good look at the
Ptarmigan and the Rosy-Finches. We were up at Paradise late Tuesday, which
produced so-so results. We started from the visitor center and went up the
Myrtle Falls/Golden Gate Trail, not quite to Panorama Point. We had some
Pine Siskins, Juncos, and many Marmots. We had great camping at Cougar Rock.

Wednesday morning, we drove from Cougar Rock to Sunrise. Just before the
Sunrise Lake viewpoint, we had a Golden Eagle fly over the trees and a
Varied Thrush calling from the woods. The real treat on the drive up was the
male White-tailed Ptarmigan: Seen about ? mi. before the visitor center
parking lot, it was first on the left side of the road, then it ran over to
the right side and started clawing up the hill. We were surprised to see it
down at that elevation! Halfway up to Frozen Lake, we saw a female Blue
Grouse and baby hanging out on the side of the trail. At the Mount Fremont
Lookout we saw a juvenile Horned Lark hopping around next to the snow patch
closest to the building. We also saw Horned Larks and Clark?s Nutcrackers on
the service road, which was our return route to the visitor center. Although
we dipped on the Finches, all in all, it was an excellent trip. Happy
Birding! Ira Zuckerman, Seattle, WA