Post by Dave on Nov 23, 2007 20:24:45 GMT -8
John and I were off work today at noon, and decided to use the extra hours of sunlight for a good work out. We headed to Needle Peak Trail.
We pulled off the highway, and were ready to go by 1:00.
We paused at the waterfall for pictures, as it looked so neat covered in ice.
After a straight-up-hill, huff-and-puff climb in the snow, the mountain was in view. We only paused briefly for some Golden-crowned Kinglets
Shortly later, we were in Ptarmigan country, but I was denied the priviledge of seeing one. It was rather nippy, but after sweating up the grind, there was no way I was wearing my heavy jacket. Frozen hands and nose, sweaty back, probably not a heathly combination. Lots and lots of Pine Siskins were around, and I took some time (time was precious as it was now 2:30pm) to sort through for Redpolls, etc, but only siskin after siskin after siskin.
Well, we spent an hour or two walking through some pretty good Ptarmigan area, but only found some tracks. The odd Raven flew by at this higher elevation, but that was it for bird life!
Once the sun dipped below the horizon, we headed down the mountain.
It was a rather interesting combination of skidding, slidding, skiiing, snowboarding, and tree-hugging as we headed down in the semi-dark. We did run into (pretty much literally) an unidentifed Grouse species. that nearly took off our heads in flight.
Well, it was a beautiful afternoon, but the bird list is rather short. Lets see:
Pine Siskin 200+
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Common Raven 3
I think that's it! (maybe this report fits better under "Off Topic Discussion)Well, you can't see them if you don't try!
Enjoy your weekend,
Dave
We pulled off the highway, and were ready to go by 1:00.
We paused at the waterfall for pictures, as it looked so neat covered in ice.
After a straight-up-hill, huff-and-puff climb in the snow, the mountain was in view. We only paused briefly for some Golden-crowned Kinglets
Shortly later, we were in Ptarmigan country, but I was denied the priviledge of seeing one. It was rather nippy, but after sweating up the grind, there was no way I was wearing my heavy jacket. Frozen hands and nose, sweaty back, probably not a heathly combination. Lots and lots of Pine Siskins were around, and I took some time (time was precious as it was now 2:30pm) to sort through for Redpolls, etc, but only siskin after siskin after siskin.
Well, we spent an hour or two walking through some pretty good Ptarmigan area, but only found some tracks. The odd Raven flew by at this higher elevation, but that was it for bird life!
Once the sun dipped below the horizon, we headed down the mountain.
It was a rather interesting combination of skidding, slidding, skiiing, snowboarding, and tree-hugging as we headed down in the semi-dark. We did run into (pretty much literally) an unidentifed Grouse species. that nearly took off our heads in flight.
Well, it was a beautiful afternoon, but the bird list is rather short. Lets see:
Pine Siskin 200+
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Common Raven 3
I think that's it! (maybe this report fits better under "Off Topic Discussion)Well, you can't see them if you don't try!
Enjoy your weekend,
Dave