[Tweeters] Rare/Scarce Birds and Mammals on the PCT (North Cascades/Section L)

[Alex Sowers]

Hey tweets,


The past 6 days my brother and I have been hiking the last and our final
section of the WA Pacific Crest Trail. Last summer we were planning on
doing all of WA, but unfortunately by the time we reached Rainy Pass the
fires had gotten so bad that the final section (Rainy Pass to the Canada
border) was closed. So, on July 27th, we set out for Hart’s Pass with the
intention of hiking north to touch the Canada border and then hiking south
to Rainy Pass in order to complete the full section. All in all around 90
miles with 60 of it doubled back on.


Despite the main focus being hiking, it was easy to set aside some time
here and there to scan slopes or check a flock or two. Here are some of the
wildlife highlights we had during this six day trip.


The numbers are of sightings, not individuals (though most of the time
they’re pretty close).


Birds…


SPRUCE GROUSE (1): Had a mother and three young along side the trail in the
literal southeast corner of Whatcom Co. (location on eBird).


AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER (8): Abundant and pretty much the default
woodpecker up to 60 miles south of the border. Heard/saw a total of about
10 with about half of them in Whatcom Co.


MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (2): One flock by Rock Pass (Whatcom Co.) consisted of
24(!) birds all moving together and flyatching in the meadow by our tent
site. The next day we also had a dozen or so at Hart’s Pass on the Okanogan
side.


PINE GROSBEAK (7): Relatively abundant down to Hart’s Pass. Had a total of
17 seen/heard with the majority being in the last 10 miles to the border.
About a quarter were recorded in Whatcom Co. with the remainder in Okanogan.


GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH (2): Had 2 barely in Okanogan Co. flying past a
ridge a mile or so southbound of Hopkins Lake. Two days later we had
another 3 split the county line while having lunch atop a ridge  7 miles
southbound of Hart’s Pass.


WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (3-4): While doing some tiresome elevation on the
the second day, we had one particularly loud bird fly over heading north
just above Holman Pass (Whatcom Co.). The following day during our descent
to the border (Okanogan Co.) we heard what sounded like a pair flying over
less than 3 miles south of the border. Two days later I was sitting at our
picnic table at Hart’s Pass and could’ve sworn I heard WWCR calls above for
a few seconds, though I never got eyes on them. *Update now that i’m back
in reception: Had 2 more overhead between Methow and Granite Pass (Skagit
Co.).


Apart from the “highlights”, there were plenty of Sooty Grouse, heard only
Townsend’s Solitaires, a Nashville Warbler, and a little less than fifty
Clark’s Nutcrackers.


Mammals…


RED-BACKED VOLE (2): Saw a unidentifiable blur disappear into a hole for a
second or two before sticking it’s head (and some of it’s back) out for
diagnostic views. Three days later I got good, though brief views, of one
diving into a hole at Hart’s Pass.


BLACK BEAR (1): Spotted a super distant black-bear feeding outside a burn 2
miles south of the border.


GRIZZLY BEAR (1) The obvious highlight of the trip!!! While we were
descending down to Holman Pass (Whatcom Co.) I spotted a distant speck in a
meadow adjacent to the ridge we were on (~6,400’). Upon getting on it in
binoculars, it became apparent that not only was it brown and huge, but it
had a large hump between its shoulders. We watched it for about a half an
hour and though distant, every now and then it would turn at the right
angle and we could see the large facial disc typical of Grizzlies.


SHORT-TAILED WEASEL (1): While having dinner the evening before we saw the
Grizzly from the same location, we spotted a Short-tailed Weasel run by
with a large vole in it’s mouth. Throughout dinner, it made 2 more
appearances right next to our tent site. This was a lifer mammal for both
us and the highlight of the trip up until the next morning.


LONG-TAILED WEASEL (1): After hearing that we might’ve missed a potential
Wolverine at Hart’s Pass on Day 4 (by 10 minutes) we decided that it would
be a good idea to wake up early the next morning and walk along the area it
was seen in the previous evening. Though we obviously had not luck with the
Wolverine, we did have sporadic views of a Long-tailed Weasel running along
the blowdowns at the rim of the burn.


Throughout the hike it was hard to escape the calls of Columbian
Ground-Squirrels and Red Squirrels. It was especially cool to see both of
these species in Whatcom Co. as I usually think of them being eastern WA
species.


Crappy phone/digibin pics of Short-tailed Weasel and Grizzly Bear here:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=alexsowers6&verifiable=any

Poor bird photos and audio can be seen on my eBird profile:
https://ebird.org/profile/NjQyMzIz/US-WA


Good birding and happy trails,

Alex Sowers
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