[Tweeters] Common Loon and other birds of sub-alpine Snohomish County

[Josh Adams]

Hello Tweets,
I took a trip up to Evergreen Mountain, north of Skykomish, this morning in
hopes of finding some interesting migrants moving through the high
elevations. After suffering through gray-out conditions on my multi-night
trip to Glacier Peak it was nice to have cloudless skies and beautiful
views to go along with some good birds.

Arguably the most interesting bird of the day was seen right when I got to
the lookout at the top of the mountain. As I was trying to identify a
soaring raptor, a COMMON LOON flew through my field of view, headed west. A
cursory look at the range map for this species would indicate they migrate
over the Cascades, but seeing one flying at almost 6000ft was pretty
incredible.

Other interesting sightings:
HORNED LARK - Three birds flushed from an open area past the lookout. Later
landed just below the lookout for photo opportunities. Despite breeding in
the county, this species has traditionally been pretty hard to find.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD - A flock of ~15 flew past the lookout. Blew may actually
be a more accurate verb since the wind was really blowing most of the
morning. This was my first time seeing Mountain Bluebird actually in the
Mountains in Snohomish County.
PINE GROSBEAK - One calling along the trail. This is my go-to spot for this
species this time of year. Unfortunately they rarely give a visual.
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW - Not particularly rare, but very cool to see in
this habitat. Mixed with a flock of GC and WC sparrows.
NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL - Popped up first thing in the morning in response to
playback.

Josh Adams
Cathcart, WA
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