Cheam ptarmigan hike Sept 4 - results

[Deleted]

Hi, all.

Ten birders hiked up Mt Cheam, today. (Well a couple of us shuffled up and down. Thanks for waiting for us!) A total of at least 10 ptarmigan were located in several locations, west of and below the peak. All were White-tailed. We searched extensively along and below the ridge to the west in hopes of finding the elusive Rock Ptarmigan, but no luck.

Other species for the day:

Common Loon (flyby)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sooty (Blue) Grouse
Band-tailed Pigeon
Steller's Jay
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
American Pipit
Townsend's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Grey-crowned Rosy-finch
American Goldfinch

Thanks, Dave and Jack for kindly providing the 4x4 trucks. Congratulations, Brian, on getting your lifer White-tailed Ptarmigan, and congratulations, Thor, on getting the Ferruginous Hawk at Separation Lake today. As for the two guys who over-slept, well, you missed a really great day.

For comparison, two birders had this list at Mt Cheam on Sept 1:
Bald Eagle
Northern Goshawk
Red-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Ptarmigan (1 hen, 2 chicks)
Band-tailed Pigeon
Northern Flicker
Say's Phoebe (2)
Steller's Jay
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Grey-crowned Rosy-finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin

After two trips up in 4 days, I think I'll try somewhere flat next time, or my knees may never forgive me.

Cheam is always a great hike, and the birds and birders are a bonus. It was great to meet you guys from Chilliwack. Thanks from the Abbotsford group.

Stan

[tmanson]

Stan, and Cheam hikers/birders: Glad to hear you had a good trip. I hear it was quite busy up there. Sorry to have missed the hike, and the company. I had to make one of those tough decisions. I had been looking for a Ferruginous in that general area for about 3 years, so the temptation was too much to pass up; especially after dipping on the bird on Saturday evening. This time of year, birding rocks. I hear there is a female Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher at Reifel now, and a Snowy Egret at Beach Grove, although this latter report does not seem to be posted yet, so I guess we'll have to wait for the details. Cheers. Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Dave]

Hi all,

I just want to add that I really enjoyed the group of birders on the Cheam hike today. What a fun bunch! We will have to meet for another outing some other time. Thanks to everyone for hunting the slopes, and special thanks to Brent for walking vertical slopes to find the family of 6. Thanks to John, Ken, Stan, and Brian for providing entertainment on the driving part of the trip!

Here are some random pictures from the day.

Sooty Grouse












The five young from the family Brent found.






The view

[Gord]

Nice species list there for the two days! Too bad it doesnt include rock ptarmigan. Looking like this bird is going to be a challenge/luck to find.

Good pictues Dave. Glad all you guys went out and that the weather was cooperative and nice.

Very busy up there?

[Deleted]

Yes, lots more people up there yesterday tnan last Friday. But not like I've seen it up there on Labour Day 5 or 10 years ago. The deteriorating condition of the road will help take the pressure off the alpine ecosystem up there, I think, although it obviously makes it a lot more difficult for some of us to get there.

Just one word of amendment -- It was Brent who first went down the ridge and discovered the family of 6 ptarmigan, and went further down looking for possible Rock Ptarmigan.

I really enjoyed the whole experience. Yes, we need to get together for more upper valley birding. Maybe we'll see some of you guys on Christmas bird counts, if not sooner.

Stan

[Gord]

Forgot to add my two cents here, but I agree Stan, I think more organized walks would be a great deal of fun. I enjoyed it a lot when I got out with a small group from here.

We can consider having a yearly hike up Cheam Mtn for starts and perhaps think of some other day or half day outings as well.