Hi Barry,

The bend was on Capital Peak Rd., a bit beyond where it splits from Sherman
Valley Rd. The bend comes after two "switchbacks", and directly precedes a
patch of gravel where you can pull off to park. All the warblers I heard,
and the one I saw, came at these coordinates: 46.959161, -123.098505 .
Earlier is better, and the activity suddenly dropped off precipitously at
10:20 AM. I got there at 8:45 AM on a cloudy, sprinkling day, and that
worked well for me - but if the forecast calls for warmer sunny weather, it
is imperative to get there before it starts heating up. Honestly, if you
want a reasonable chance at getting these warblers, you may want to leave
home before 7 AM; otherwise, you may be trapped in weekday traffic until
too late in the morning!

Two more things: a Discovery Pass is required for driving up into the
Forest. Also, the roads are well-maintained gravel, with only one pothole
that we encountered.
For an address to plug into to a GPS, I suggest using that of the Sherman
Valley K9 Camp, located at the beginning of Capital Peak Rd.: 8824 Sherman
Valley Rd SW, Olympia, WA 98512

Good luck!

Joshua Glant
Mercer Island, WA

On Sat, Jul 2, 2016 at 2:55 PM, <Birder1944 at aol.com> wrote:

> Hello Joshua,
>
> I enjoy reading your Tweeters posts about your birding adventures around
> Washington.
>
> I'd like to try for Hermit Warbler, maybe as soon as this coming
> Wednesday, but I need more detailed directions, if possible. I'd like to
> find that bend in the road where you had a chorus of nearly a dozen Hermit
> Warblers. I can find the Delphi Entrance. How do I find that bend from
> there, and how do I know when I've found it? How early in the morning were
> you there? With the traffic between Kirkland and there, I probably
> wouldn't get there until late in the morning.
>
> Any other tips on birding in the Capitol Forest at this time of year?
>
> Thanks for any info you can give me.
>
> Barry Brugman
> Kirkland, WA
>
>
> In a message dated 7/2/2016 2:27:09 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
> josh.n.glant at gmail.com writes:
>
> Hello Tweets,
>
> Today has been a very good day! My father and I began this morning with a
> hermit warbler search at Capitol Forest. Upon entering via the Delphi
> Entrance, we soon reached a bend in the road where I had heard of hermit
> warbler success earlier this year. We, too, found success! We reveled in
> the chorus of nearly a dozen hermits all around us, before finally spotting
> a pure male singing high atop a fir. An exciting lifer!
>
> On the way home, I decided upon the recommendation of my friend Adrian Lee
> to stop at 204th St. in Kent. Besides a couple fluffy young spotted
> sandpipers, I didn't see anything of special note. As I was leaving, I took
> one last scan and noticed a black phoebe on an exposed tree root!! The
> phoebe perched for distant photos, flew to a tiny willow, then fluttered
> out of sight. Lifer #2 for today!
>
> Has the same individual continued in this area since January, or has a new
> phoebe taken up temporary residence at the spot? The fact that this is
> virtually the same location as in January makes the former scenario quite
> likely, but the latter cannot be ruled out. A fun sighting and bird either
> way!
>
> To reach where I saw the black phoebe, park at the east end of 204th St.
> in the paved circular lot; walk north along the riverside gravel trail
> until you pass below the 200th St. bridge. The bird was in the riparian
> area below the overlook, but do be sure to check elsewhere along the river,
> as the phoebe is wont to wander.
>
> Good birding, Joshua Glant
> Mercer Island, WA
>
> PS. One year ago today, I had another very special birding experience:
> exactly 365 days ago at this very moment, I was watching a certain crested
> caracara in Skykomish - time flies!
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>
>
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