Yesterday my wife and I decided to get out of town and do a pretty hike down the Crystal Mountain Trail. We took the gondola to the summit and hiked the four mile long Crystal Mountain trail back to the parking lot. At Elizabeth Lake we hit a warbler bonanza: two orange-crowns, a Wilson's, four yellow-rumps (including two juveniles), a Townsend's, and an unexpected Nashville. Also present there were a half-dozen western tanagers and an equal number of dark-eyed juncos, as well as a Swainson's thrush. At a smaller lake nearby a family of 4 gray jays were taking baths on a submerged log in the lake, and two Cassin's finches were active in the trees above. Just after we left the summit a MERLIN nicely flew over the trail. Finally, near the parking lot a rufous hummingbird was feeding on the meadow flowers. All in all a nice day out with a bonus of some good birds.

Ken Brunner