Tweeters,

Mary Anne Rossing and I (George Gerdts) took advantage of the beautiful
weather and headed to Sunrise to hike and also to try for the ptarmigan family
that has been seen regularly in that area. Our efforts were rewarded with
long studies of a hen with two juveniles and then a chance to photograph
the male as he walked among the boulders and heather patches. This is most
likely the same group that others have been reporting. They were several
hundred yards east of the look-out tower at the summit of Mt. Fremont, which
is a 2.8 mile hike from the Sunrise Visitor Center parking lot. There
were 50 Mt. Goats in a dust wallow in the same area as the ptarmigan. We also
saw a young Black Bear near Shadow Lake on our return hike. Here's a link
to some photos of the ptarmigan and goats and bear.

_http://campephilus.smugmug.com/Birds/White-tailed-Ptarmigan-at-Mt/18948772_
F9RqvR#1470742182_PT9h9Mj_
(http://campephilus.smugmug.com/Birds/White-tailed-Ptarmigan-at-Mt/18948772_F9RqvR#1470742182_PT9h9Mj)

Good birding,

George Gerdts
_geopandion at gmail.com_ (mailto:geopandion at gmail.com)
Bainbridge Island, WA