Subject: [Tweeters] Sunrise (Mt. Rainier) 9-6-12
Date: Sep 7 15:11:31 2012
From: Carol Riddell - cariddellwa at gmail.com


Hi Tweets,

On Thursday I followed the recent migration of birders to Sunrise,
both to enjoy the glorious weather and see what birds were out and
about. I went out to the Mt. Fremont Lookout and back. I didn't see
any White-tailed Ptarmigans in the vicinity of the lookout. I got that
species at the beginning of the hike, about a quarter mile from the
Sunrise lodge. I saw one in flight and that was it for the afternoon.
I watched a couple of clumps of trees for a while which had a lot of
bird activity and noted Townsend's, Yellow-rumped, and Orange-crowned
Warblers, along with Dark-eyed Juncos and Savannah Sparrows. The trees
on the way to Frozen Lake were full of Clark's Nutcrackers. The only
Gray Jays I saw were down in the Sunrise parking lot. Two American
Wigeons spent the afternoon on Frozen Lake. A flock of 50-75 American
Pipits flew in briefly, landing on a snow field near the lake. Other
birds included Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, and Kestrel. Six
mountain goats were in a drainage below the Mt. Fremont lookout.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds