My original plan was to head to Mount Rainier, but given the holiday weekend I was told it is nearly impossible to get to certain places because it's the place to be for Seattle residents. Instead I opted to go to North Cascades, a more remote and less popular park. That meant birding info was hard to come by, but the views looked gorgeous and my goal is to visit every national park, so it would be perfect.
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| North Cascades National Park |
I wanted to get to high elevation places, and unfortunately the Sahale Arm that I originally planned on doing was not an option due to road conditions. However, I found the Sourdough Mountain Trail, an 11.2 mile trail that gains 5,100 feet of elevation. It was going to be tough, but it was supposed to be worth it. The parking along Diablo Lake was pretty birding, with Vaux's Swifts dive bombing to get sips of water. Stellar's Jays were calling in the trees as I began my ascent.
This was physically the hardest thing I've ever done. Outside of Sooty Grouse and Pacific Wren there was minimal birding done because I was just focused on the hike. The views at the fire lookout were so worth the grueling hike, it's just hard to bird when you're pouring sweat and breathing heavily. Great hike, but not the best trail if you want to bird.
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| Views from Sourdough Mountain |
The next day was more of a birding day. I made a longer drive to the Blue Lake Trail, which is technically in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. This trail is the highest rated on Alltrails, and at 5 miles round trip it would much easier on my body. It was colder than the previous day and I was at a higher elevation starting. It was amazing. Stopping frequently to soak in the views allowed me to hear a host of birds. Stellar's Jays were very noisy, which are always fun to see. The black and blue for some reason really captivates me, but my attention was quickly diverted when I heard a woodpecker. The dense forest worked against me, and I almost gave up thinking that it was likely a Hairy Woodpecker. I was so glad to be wrong, at the base of the tree was one of my more sought after birds, American Three-toed Woodpecker!
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| Townsend's Warbler |
This was pretty surprising because I've typically heard you find them in areas that are burned by wildfires, but there weren't any burned out trees. This is another bird that I always wanted to get a chance at because they're also typically found at high elevations, and if you can't tell by now I prefer birding up in the mountains. An entire different world of birding opens up, especially once you get west of the Rockies.
The trail opened up to a park that offered outstanding views of the mountains, and there was a lot of bird activity. White-crowned Sparrows flitted below while Mountain Chickadees foraged up in the trees above. I got really hyped over a few Townsend's Warblers that were likely migrating south. They look pretty similar to Black-throated Green and Golden-cheeked, but are exclusively found on the West Coast.
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| Blue Lake |
Even without the amazing birds, Blue Lake is one of the better hikes I've done. The views are outstanding and the hike is not difficult at all. Also the lake looks like something you'd find in the Alps, and I ended up laying on rocks around the lake to soak in the view. In early September there was still snow on the ground!
I ended the day by walking Trail of the Cedars, a short trail that winds through the forest. I had a bird in mind, American Dipper. The trail winds along the green Skagit River, which looks unlike most rivers in the country. It's loud too, but in a very peaceful and relaxing way. Newhalem Creek which, empties into the Skagit, had perfect Dipper habitat, being really shallow but full of rocks and pebbles. I crept along the creek seemingly silent, each splash drowned out by the flowing water. It didn't take long to flush one, and it was extremely cooperative. With the sun sitting low it was time to go to dinner and make camp.
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| American Dipper |
It is worth mentioning that my campsite was one of the better camping experiences that I've had. Cedars tower over you and the smell is overwhelming in a positive way. You don't see too many people because of the way the campsites are arranged, so it feels really peaceful. I slept with the rainfly off and was almost kept awake by the bright moon and stars. Not a bad problem to have.
I really didn't want to go home, but I had to the next morning. I stopped at Discovery Park in Seattle and was rewarded with great views of mostly the same birds, but I did add Pileated Woodpecker and a ton of Golden-crowned Kinglets, the latter of which I only had seen once before in terrible lighting. A few of the gorgeous Anna's Hummingbirds were out, their purple heads glowing in the sunlight. These were the best views I ever had of one. This is the spot to go to in Seattle, I just didn't have enough to fully bird it. It was an unseasonably warm day by Washington standards and wildfires in the area kept the air hazy, but it did nothing to take away from the outstanding views of the Puget Sound.
I finished the trip with 21 lifers, exceeding my goal of 20. The pelagic was mind blowing, and 2 days of hiking was not enough for the Cascades. I know Rainier and Olympic get lots of love, but it was shocking to see so few people in comparison to the visitation North Cascades gets. If I could do it over again I would have rented a different car so I could get up Cascade Pass and try for Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and White-tailed Ptarmigan, but I'll at least get a chance for the former in December. Time to start planning for the Everglades in 2 weeks!
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