Late report, but I've been ridiculously busy in the yard lately.



On April 25, my husband and I took a break from all the yard work and headed
up Spirit Lake Memorial Highway (highway 504) to get a glimpse of Mount St.
Helens on a beautiful, clear day. It did not disappoint!



At the closed Mount St Helens Forest Learning Center (milepost 33), we
pulled off the road to watch some VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS who were nesting in
the cliffs across the highway from the center http://flic.kr/p/egaoYS . That
cliff is at 2765 feet elevation.



At the entrance to the Monument, we pulled over at the Elk Rock Viewpoint
(3760 feet) and spent a good long hour. It was breezy and not too busy.
Eventually, we had the place to ourselves. I saw three of these birds there
http://flic.kr/p/eg4DKz in different trees at the viewpoint. They were very
mockingbird-looking, had very long tails http://flic.kr/p/eg4DmT and white
eye rings http://flic.kr/p/egaoq9 . Ignore the blue tint in the photo. These
birds were gray. I have tentatively identified them as TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.
If correct, this is a life bird for me.



While setting up a panoramic shot of the mountain, a HUMMINGBIRD zoomed by
my head. It was so fast that I couldn't get a good look at it. Wonder what
kind it was?



Also, a COMMON RAVEN kept an eye on us to see if we would leave behind
anything to eat. We didn't.







Off topic, while we were at the viewpoint, I found a Washington state car
tag blowing around in the wind. Weird.



Amy Hill

Kalama, WA

Cowlitz County

628 feet up

60stops2home at kalama dot com