Subject: [Tweeters] Bear Creek Mountain ptarmigan search-28 August
Date: Aug 28 19:22:18 2011
From: Andy Stepniewski - steppie at nwinfo.net


BEAR CREEK MOUNTAIN TRAIL

28 AUGUST 2011

Nine intrepid hikers climbed all over Bear Creek Mountains north slope today
hoping to blunder into a ptarmigan. It has become a standing joke
hereabouts in Yakima County: "where's the ptarmigan?" Well today, our track
record continued. The ptarmigan if present, stayed hidden. We had a good
crew of fit hikers to canvas Bear Creek Mountain, too, an eastern outlier in
the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area.

We did spot 32 species of birds, including a Northern Goshawk. Perhaps most
notable was a female-plumaged WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER at 6000 feet elevation
boring into a mature, live Mountain Hemlock tree, well away from its usual
dry forest haunts.

Migration of Neotropics appears in full swing. We encountered several
roving flocks of warblers along the trail. Townsend's Warblers were the most
numerous species, followed by ratty-looking Yellow-rumps, then Nashvilles.

The wildflower show, as others report, continues to be most impressive.This
is so because of the lateness of snow melt this summer.

The species tally:

Turkey Vulture 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Williamson's Sapsucker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 3
Gray Jay 2
Steller's Jay 3
Clark's Nutcracker 8
Common Raven 7
Mountain Chickadee 15
Red-breasted Nuthatch 10
Pacific Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 20
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Townsend's Warbler 25
Wilson's Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 15
Fox Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Western Tanager 10
Cassin's Finch 10
Red Crossbill 15
Pine Siskin 50

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net