[Tweeters] Yellow Aster Butte

[Steve Loitz]

I agree that Esmeralda Basin has good birding in late spring and summer,
and is a mellow hike. It is a good representation of East Cascades
montane forest and montane riparian habitat. There are numerous birding
spots on the drive to the trailhead. In a typical year, snow may linger
until early June, sometimes later, sometimes earlier. If you want more
details, do not hesitate to email me. I get up there several times each
year, sometimes on foot, sometimes on ski.

Yellow Aster Butte area is very different habitat, west-of-crest subalpine
and lower alpine. It's a lovely place, a popular overnight backpack camping
spot from July through September, i.e., the months when it is snow free, so
do not expect solitude there, especially on weekends. There are more easily
accessed spots in the area where you can see subalpine species, e.g.,
nearby Artist Point and Table Mountain.

IME, the most mellow (short, easy) high subalpine/alpine habitat birding
hikes in the North Cascades are in the Harts Pass/Slate Peak area. The road
to Harts Pass is fine, but you may want to conduct some research if you
plan to continue driving the road to Slate Peak, which has dropoffs and
tight spots that spook some people. Like the other areas mentioned above,
the Harts Pass/Slate Peak area is snow-free only for a few months,
typically from mid-July to mid-October. Also be aware that the area gets
lots of deer hunters in high buck season the last half of September. IME,
it's the most accessible spot in the North Cascades to see alpine bird
species, e.g., American Pipit, Horned Lark, Gray-crowned Rosy-finch,
White-tail Ptarmigan, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, and a great area for
viewing subalpine species, e.g., Mountain Chickadee, Clark's Nutcracker,
Townsend's Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Cassin's
Finch, Townsend's Solitaire and many more. You may get lucky and see a
Golden Eagle or an American Goshawk (fka Northern Goshawk).

Steve Loitz
Ellensburg

On Tue, Jan 23, 2024 at 2:07 PM Ven. Dhammadinna <sdd.bodhiheart at gmail.com>
wrote:


> Hi Jim,

> I did this trail last August. It is fabled for the great variety of ferns

> that thrive on the two types of rock formations that meet there. It is

> strenuous. A good way to get info about all aspects of a hike is to go to

> wta.org. In their menu bar, select trip reports. In the drop down menu

> write the name of the hike, Yellow Aster Butte. In keyword, put in bird or

> the name of a bird and hit search. The results will show you what others

> before you have reported.

> For eastern Washington bird hikes, Esmeralda Basin is very birdy and not

> so rigorous and it's a lot closer to Puget Sound. I saw Three Toed

> Woodpeckers there that were astonishingly tame. Wta.org also has

> recommended bird hikes---they got Ed Dominguez of Seward Park Audubon to

> pick birdy hikes.

> Happy Trails!

> Dhammadinna

> Seattle

>

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