Hello Tweets,
I took my turn heading the birders mecca at Sunrise this morning. The
most pleasant surprise was that it only took us 2.5 hours to get there
from Lynnwood, rather than the 3.5 hours both Bing and Google maps
told me.

Before heading to Mt. Fremont I walked around the picnic area a little
bit to see what might be active just after sunrise. I only was able to
find DARK-EYED JUNCO's and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. When I got to the
car to change into my hiking shoes I noticed an apparent falcon flying
near the visitor's center. I only had brief looks through a dirty
windshield, but it appeared to be a PRAIRIE FALCON from what I could
tell. Once I embarked on my journey I immediately encountered a group
of birders (Seattle Audobon?) and spent a brief moment watching a
flock of what appeared to a mixed flock of PINE SISKIN working their
way through the nearby trees. We also had a small group of EVENING
GROSBEAK fly overhead as well as a small Accipiter that seemed too
small to be anything but a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. The hike to the lookout
proved very quiet, with the highlights being a couple YELLOW-RUMPED
WARLBERS and a ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a second viewing of a
PRAIRIE FALCON. We also had a group of 33 Mountain Goats and a second
group of 3 below the trail.

I tried as hard as I know how, but I couldn't find any PTARMIGANS
anywhere near the lookout. After passing the group I'd run into
earlier (Hopefully they had better luck with the Ptarms) the birding
finally warmed up. A flock of heavily molting GRAY-CROWNED ROSY
FINCHES worked their way up the slope before crossing the trail 15
feet in front of me. Two TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were also observed
moving from perch to perch below us. When we reached Frozen Lake again
we encountered what I thought was a small group of HORNED LARKS. As we
moved forward on the trail, however, the well camouflaged birds took
flight in several large groups. I estimate there were at least 250
birds in total. Once the larks vacated a single ROSY FINCH was left
over, looking quite lost. On the way back we had several more
SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, several CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, and a pair of what
appear to have been RED-TAILED HAWKS soaring far above. I made one
last walk around the trees past the picnic area and picked up MOUNTAIN
CHICKADEE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, and GRAY JAYS anywhere where people
were picnicking.

Josh Adams
Lynnwood, WA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beastofexmoor/