Hi Tweeters,

Yesterday, my wife Wendy and I hiked up the Summit Lake trail, which is located just outside of the Mowich Lake entrance in the northwestern portion of Mount Rainier NP. The trail is on National Forest Land. The birds are getting quieter now that summer is wearing on, with the exception of Hermit and Varied Thrushes, which were still calling, especially at the trail head as well as the top of the trail by the lake. The hike itself is beautiful and worth it just for the scenery at the top. The most exciting birds of the day for me were 2 Black Swifts, which were flying about at the summit overlooking Summit Lake, about 5,500 feet above sea level, often with Mt Rainier as a backdrop. Here are all of the species that I saw:
1 Turkey Vulture
2 Black Swift: Seen while at the top of the peak overlooking Summit Lake at approximately 5,500 feet above sea level. Watched for more than 10 minutes. Larger, darker, and slower flapping than Vaux's Swift with a lot of gliding. They often flew to within 30 feet or so of us.
7 Gray Jay (Two different groups)
2 Steller's Jay
1 Common Raven
4 Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Townsend's Solitaire
Hermit Thrush
Varied Thrush
Dark-eyed Junco
1 Black-headed Grosbeak
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
2 Evening Grosbeak

Good birding,

Lonnie Somer
mombiwheeler at comcast.net<mailto:mombiwheeler at comcast.net>
Seattle