Post by Dave on Dec 5, 2009 22:35:23 GMT -8
3 of us headed up Needle Peak today in search of the elusive Pure-white-plumaged White-tailed Ptarmigan. Despite 4 or 5 hours of good searching in the high alpine, the elusive white ptarmingan is still elusive.
The weather was awesome, and I was over-dressed. After 30 minutes on the trail, it was time to shed a layer or two and we stopped in time for a flock of Mountain Chickadees and the odd Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Once we finished the 'grind' up, we leveled out in the subalpine and were treated to a flock of about 25 Red Crossbills. No white-winged that I could see!
Up we went. The next picture shows some footprints from a hiker a while ago. The compact footprints remained as the wind blew the rest of the snow away. We saw this unique formation in quite a few places.
Up in the alpine we were treated to beautiful views, bright blue sky, and plenty of snow and ice. There was a good layer of ice on everything, and made for some interesting and challenging hiking from time to time. The claws on the bottom of the snowshoes sure came in handy!
We searched for ptarmigan right up to the bottom of the peak. We didn't scramble the last 5 minutes to the top though, as we figured there is a limit to the risk one should take...
A flock of 10 birds circled and landed nearby. Bohemian Waxwings! I managed a distant picture....
A large raptor glided a big circle overhead and headed off, but gave enough views for ID - Golden Eagle!!
(maybe that's why I couldn't find any ptarmigan 
On the way down, another flock of birds (30-40) consisting of mixed species landed nearby. There were at least 15 Pine Grosbeaks, but some siskins as well. Unfortunately, they flew on before I could view them all. I have the gut feeling there were more species in there.....
Here are some more mixed pictures
Here I am, about ready to head up the final stretch of the hike!
The view we enjoyed.
Check out that sky!!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Dave
The weather was awesome, and I was over-dressed. After 30 minutes on the trail, it was time to shed a layer or two and we stopped in time for a flock of Mountain Chickadees and the odd Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Once we finished the 'grind' up, we leveled out in the subalpine and were treated to a flock of about 25 Red Crossbills. No white-winged that I could see!
Up we went. The next picture shows some footprints from a hiker a while ago. The compact footprints remained as the wind blew the rest of the snow away. We saw this unique formation in quite a few places.
Up in the alpine we were treated to beautiful views, bright blue sky, and plenty of snow and ice. There was a good layer of ice on everything, and made for some interesting and challenging hiking from time to time. The claws on the bottom of the snowshoes sure came in handy!
We searched for ptarmigan right up to the bottom of the peak. We didn't scramble the last 5 minutes to the top though, as we figured there is a limit to the risk one should take...
A flock of 10 birds circled and landed nearby. Bohemian Waxwings! I managed a distant picture....
A large raptor glided a big circle overhead and headed off, but gave enough views for ID - Golden Eagle!!
(maybe that's why I couldn't find any ptarmigan 
On the way down, another flock of birds (30-40) consisting of mixed species landed nearby. There were at least 15 Pine Grosbeaks, but some siskins as well. Unfortunately, they flew on before I could view them all. I have the gut feeling there were more species in there.....
Here are some more mixed pictures
Here I am, about ready to head up the final stretch of the hike!
The view we enjoyed.
Check out that sky!!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Dave
