Jim Danzenbaker, Randy Hill and I started up on Rd 1500 ( half way up the road to the yellow gate) to a calling northern pygmy-owl (#117) hooting down ridge. We next crossed the gate to look for sooty grouse where we struck out but on a tree top spotted a merlin (#118). We then drove to Rd 1200 and although not finding what we wanted ( red crossbill and a chance at rosy-finch) we did come across a singing American Dipper in Rock Creek. We returned to the Larch Mt/Rd 1500 area to look for gray jay without success. We headed home to stop at the Fire Station on NW Rawson Rd (139th) and found a single red crossbill (#119) and a singing Hutton's vireo (#120) in a forging flock. We looked for gulls in Battleground with no luck and ended our day.

Bob Flores
Ridgefield, WA

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