Five of us met at the MVSTA parking lot in Winthrop Monday for the last of our scheduled summer bird walks. It was a lovely morning as we all piled into a Prius to make the drive to North Cascades Basecamp. The Basecamp is stop number 40 on the Cascade Loop of the Great Washington Birding Trail, produced by Audubon Washington and it is open to birders to walk its trails at no charge. We knew we were late in the season to see the nesting species but Kim, the owner had said we might get to see some special birds anyway. She was right. We were treated to spectacular views of the resident Peregrine Falcon family! The young recently fledged and have been seen regularly hunting in the forest surrounding the Basecamp. We saw both young and an adult. At one point along the river, we noticed feathers falling from the air! We turned and saw one of the parents plucking a tiny bird in the tree above us!
She didn't seem too concerned about us.
Here is our short species list:
Peregrine Falcon
Western Wood-Pewee
Unidentified Empidonax
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Yellow Warbler
Western Tanager
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
There were other calls that we heard but we were unable to identify them.
Next month we will venture further afield, traveling down the Methow to the Columbia in hopes of seeing American White Pelicans and other water birds. We are still discussing a date in the first half of September. Watch this blog and the NCW Audubon Wild Phlox for the announcement.
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