Sherry and I went up Mt. Rainier for the day. Still lots of snow at Paradise, but our goal wasn't to hike any trails, but to look for wildlife. The overcast day made just the right conditions to do so. Up at Paradise we found GRAY JAYS, CLARK NUTCRACKERS, STELLER'S JAYS, and RAVENS. We worked our way over to Box Canyon where we found a HERMIT WARBLER. Stevens Canyon produced a SOOTY GROUSE and YELLOW WARBLER. On the way back we stopped at the end of West Side Road where we found VAUX'S SWIFTS and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS. We heard VARIED THRUSHES throughout the park.
Our mamal list was the best part of the trip. We had several Black-tailed Deer, 2 Pikas, 1 Yellow-pine Chipmunk, 2 Hoary Marmots, 1 Black Bear, and 6 Red Foxes which included 3 kits at a den site.

Dave Hayden
dtvhm AT nwrain.com
Centralia, WA