[obol] Larch Mountain (Multnomah County)

From: Philip Kline <pgeorgekline@xxxxxxxxx>
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 11:32:47 -0700
On Wednesday morning, I walked upper Larch Mountain Road from the still
closed gate at milepost (MP) 10 to the Peak.  The lack of vehicle access
made it a pleasantly quiet walk with just a few cyclists on the road and
later a few hikers.  I went specifically looking for SOOTY GROUSE and GRAY
JAY and actually found what I was looking for (love it when that happens).
 I flushed one grouse up from the roadside a couple hundred yards short of
MP14 (it was booming away in the same area on my way back down) and heard
another near the Peak.  The Gray Jay was perched atop a roadside fir near
MP12.

Saw a few other nice county birds too.  I was surprised to find a MOUNTAIN
CHICKADEE at the parking lot at the top.  It was quite active and vocal for
a couple of minutes and then flew off.  I could not relocate it on my way
back down.  I heard and later saw a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE calling above the
steps up to the viewpoint at the top.  I also saw and heard a couple of
distant flyby Red Crossbills north and below the peak. Hermit Warblers were
abundant and singing all the way up, which gave me a chance to learn at
least the two songs they were mostly singing.  Hermit Thrushes were also
singing, all above MP14, but I heard no Swainson's Thrushes (perhaps too
high even at MP10 - c. 2500'?). Plenty of calling and singing Varied
Thrushes too (love that song!).  Pacific-Slope Flycatchers were already on
territory, calling and singing along the first mile, but I didn't hear any
above MP11.  The only species I was hoping to see and missed were Chipping
Sparrows and Ruffed Grouse.

Another seemingly good find for the county was a couple of heard-only
MOUNTAIN QUAIL from the clearcut at MP 4.3 (mentioned in the excellent
Multnomah County birdfinding guide, which has a short section on Larch
Mountain Road, although a couple of sites are already a little out of
date).  I walked in on the short track from the gate at the road with quail
not really on my radar.  At the end of the track, I heard a distant,
repetitive call that sounded like Mountain Quail.  The call came from the
second-growth on the other side of the creek that runs along the southern
border of the clearcut.  I moved closer and heard it more clearly and then
apparently a second bird from still further off.  The terrain between me
and the birds was steep and rough, so I didn't try to get any closer.  I
never saw either bird so I can't eliminate something like a Steller's Jay
imitation, but both birds called several times in a row on more than one
occasion and the cadence was identical to the recording I had on my IPod.
 Not sure how rare they are in this area, but I found very few reports on
ebird.  Elevation is about 1400' here.

Good birding,

Philip Kline
[obol] Larch Mountain (Multnomah County)

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