Hello Tweeters.
It was a cold clear Skies with no winds on Mount Rainier yesterday,as I meet
Carol Riddell in the vicinity of Mount Rainier,at 4.00 PM.we made sure that
we had all our gear ready with many layers of warm cloth.(I wore Patrick's
big blue coat for good luck.The big full moon was so bright that we really
did not needed a flashlight.We birdied some trails and noted that it was so
quite NO sound of any birds.The only birds we had where 50 Pipit's who was
swirling around,and 2 Red-tailed Hawk getting there prey all the time.The
mountain when it got dark looking like big ICE Mountains.In 2 hours of
searching we absolutely came up with not 1 Owl , looking on all places
where we had Boreal Owls in previous Years.
By now it was 9.00 PM already,I was leading us down hill,as I
stopped to believe I something was flying over the Road.
We did not saw the Owl ,but certainly this bird was our first Boreal
Owl,calling close by,but I was so surprised this owl call the real song, NOT
the alarm call "SKEW" what we usual gotten in the past.But now another
Boreal responded on the opposite
of the street,and further even another Boreal Owl,it seems as there
commuting with each other.We saw 2 birds flying but we could never got it
sitting ,so we could not use our flashlight.This behavior on lower elevation
and the call was really new for me.It could be that it got to cold on higher
elevation,that this birds coming to lower elevation.
It was late coming Home ,close to 2.00 AM.First species for Carol,but for me
I learned a little more about our Boreal Owls here in Washington.


Cheers Ruth Sullivan and Carol Riddell