Tweets,



Ten of us headed up past Greenwater to the Naches Pass Trail crossing at the
far end of Forest Road 70 and spur 160 from where we hiked up through a fine
stand of old growth silver fir past Government Meadow to the pass at the
junction of four counties, King, Kittitas, Pierce, and Yakima. A beautiful
day, in sharp contrast to our experience on the WOS field trip Monday, which
was weathered out. The ORV crowd was relatively quiet and we enjoyed a
pleasant hike with some good birds. At mid-day we descended to the junction
with FSR 7030 and drove back up to the trailhead for Kelly Butte, a
prominent basaltic mesa astride the Greenwater-Green River divide a few
miles west of the Cascade Crest. We climbed up several hundred feet on the
new trail, enjoying expansive views past Mt. Rainier. To finish the trip we
drove east along this crest on FSR 7036 and 7038 to what we like to call
"Silver Snag Crest," site of an old burn on the King-Kittitas County divide
at about 5400 feet or so elevation.



Highlights included:



Sooty Grouse (presumably) 1 distant male hooting below Kelly Butte

Band-tailed Pigeon 1 Federation Forest

Vaux's Swift 5 over Government Meadow

BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD 1 female or immature seen at the Rock Wren nest
site along FSR 7036

Red-naped x Red-breasted Sapsucker 3 at various locations; no pure
sapsuckers this time

Olive-sided Flycatcher 6 widespread, vocal, and feisty; drove off a
sapsucker at one point

Willow Flycatcher 2 at a clear-cut along SR 410 west of Greenwater

Hammond's Flycatcher 2 calling at Federation Forest State Park near
Greenwater

Gray Jay 5 at Government Meadow

Northern Raven 2 Federation Forest and Government Meadow

Mountain Chickadee 2 bringing food to a nest hole just west of Naches Pass

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 heard singing at the end of Spur 160

Mountain Bluebird 3 one stunning male plus a duller male and a female, on
Silver Snag Crest

Townsend's Solitaire 2 one singing on Kelly Butte's south face

Swainson's Thrush 1 singing rather high up at the high meadow at Naches Pass
at 5000 feet

Hermit and Varied Thrushes were singing everywhere

ROCK WREN 2 one bringing food to a nest site in a patch of talus just below
FSR 7036

HERMIT X TOWNSEND'S WARBLER 1 stunning male along FSR 7036, song seemed
Hermitish and face pure yellow, /but bright yellow on the breast, black on
the crown, and dark green streaked black on the back

Chipping Sparrow several singing at the high meadow at Naches Pass

Fox Sparrow several singing, one seen well, the gray-headed Cascade form

Lincoln's Sparrow several singing from meadow-edge brush

White-crowned Sparrow several singing males, pugetensis form only this time
(gambelii is often also present)

Cassin's Finch 5 singing males and one female seen

Red Crossbill 5 widely scattered

Pine Siskin abundant

Evening Grosbeak 20 or more



Pika heard Kelly Butte

Yellow-pine Chipmunk 1 at the upper meadow at Naches Pass

Townsend's Chipmunk several lower down

Elk 30 or more, including bulls, cows, and calves, upper end of Government
Meadow

Mountain Goat 1 billy on Kelly Butte's south face



Lots of wildflowers.



Gene Hunn

18476 47th Pl NE

Lake Forest Park, WA

enhunn323 at comcast.net