Tweeters,

I did a backpacking trip into Dosewallips campground in Olympic National Park in Jefferson County over the 4th weekend and did some birding while there and while hiking. Birding in tall confier forest is always challenging for me, as indicated by my rather paltry species total of 23 species. As in past years, Harlequin Ducks with chicks were seen along the river in the campground, and American Dippers were constantly present. I also got to see my first dipper nest (a square-shaped accumulation of moss with a hole in the middle) attached to a rock outcropping along the river. Best bird of the trip, a Chipping Sparrow, was seen on the hike out between the campground and national park entrance. According to Birds of Washington, Chipping Sparrows aren't present in Jefferson County, although they reportedly do occur in clear-cuts and high forests in other parts of the Olympics. This bird was in mixed conifer forest along the side of the narrow overgrown
road leading to the campground at only 1,000 feet elevation.

Gary Wiles
Olympia, WA
wilesharkey at yahoo.com