Subject: [Tweeters] Fifth time not a charm either (no Caracara this am)
Date: Jul 9 17:59:33 2015
From: Jon Houghton - jon.houghton at hartcrowser.com


Hi Tweets - Against my better judgement, and despite the potential for hostilities, I made one last foray to Skykomish (Milltown et al.) to check out the cooperatively 'posting' Caracara this morning. Humbug! I was on patrol from 0815 to about 0930 and made several passes, on foot and by car, by the goat field. The goats appeared to be friendly and would easily have sold out to the birder side for a handful of Japanese knotweed. The troll was only glimpsed on one pass in the car and the ol' Outback got a grim stare, in keeping with recent history. I gave up the familiarly fruitless search in favor of a morning start up the Lake Serene trail, my justification for going at all. Except for the pervasive smoke, this was a nice, but grueling hike (climb?). Lot's of Swainson's (lower) and Varied (higher) thrush song, along with Pacific Wren and Warbling Vireo. Wilson's Warblers were vociferous in the steep slide areas. A moment of excitement ensued when, at the first big open view area up near the lake, I saw a pair of swifts streak by; regrettably, the bins revealed them to be Vaux's, not the sought after Black. For those who may be interested, the Lake Serene water temperature was extremely comfortable for total immersion, but the euphoria didn't last on the hike down to the car where the temp was 85 degrees. Happy Birding! - Jon