Subject: [Tweeters] 22nd and 30th Yellow Aster Butte trip reports
Date: Jul 31 11:19:36 2014
From: Fanter Lane - fanterlane at gmail.com


Hi tweeters,
I had a great time leading two trips up to Yellow Aster Butte. This hike
goes through different habitat zones and I will headline each list with
that areas habitat.

On the 22nd we had partly cloudy skies that turned into off and on showers.
Even with the weather the birds where out and it was a very productive day!
Highlights include the Rosy Finch, Tree-toed Woodpecker, displaying Sooty
Grouse, and a presumed hybrid Red-napedxRed-breasted sapsucker, lots of
wildflowers, and incredible views.
Scrubby Alder and Maple open forest:
MacGillivray's Warbler 4
Warbling Vireo 1
Yellow Warbler 2
Vaux's Swift 2
Rufous Hummingbird 3

Large evergreen forest:
Varied Thrush 2
Hermit Thrush 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (on edge)
American Three-toed Woodpecker 1 (female provided great looks right around
last year's nest snag)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pacific Wren 3
Pine Siskin 15 (all over)

Wet sub-alpine with sparse short trees:
Chipping Sparrow 2 (presumed nesting, seen on scouting trip with nest
material and then with food)
Gray Jay 3
Sooty Grouse 2 (one displaying right by trial)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Bald Eagle 1
Band-tialed Pigeon 2
Dark-eyed Junco lots
presumed Red-napedxRed-breasted Sapsucker hybrid 1 (After looking at photos
we are confident about the identification)

Alpine rocky fields around butte:
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 30 (large flock around butte providing great looks)
American Pipit 4
Savannah Sparrow 2
American Robin 7

The 30th trip was a blue bird day with not a cloud in the sky. Highlights
where definitely the ptarmigan but we also enjoyed a family of Mountain
Goats, lots of wildflowers, and incredible views!

Scrubby Alder and Maple open forest:
MacGillivray's Warbler 4
Warbling Vireo 1
Yellow Warbler 2
Hermit Thrush 2
Rufous Hummingbird 6 (including birds around butte)

Large evergreen forest:
Varied Thrush 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (on edge)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Pacific Wren 1
Pine Siskin 18 (all over)

Sub-alpine Meadows with sparse short trees:
Sooty Grouse 1 (heard)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Dark-eyed Junco 7
Evening Grosbeak 2
Vaux's Swift 2

Open rocky heather patches in basin below the butte and open fields around
butte:
White-tialed Ptarmigan 6 (we watched 1 adult female with 5 chicks while
eating lunch)
Common Raven 2
Osprey 1
American Pipit 20 (estimate lots)
American Robin 1
Savannah Sparrow 1

Good birding,
Fanter Lane
fanterlane at gmail.com
Acme, WA
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