Today I drove toward Mt. Rainier to see if I could find any birds of higher elevation. It was a beautiful drive, but birds were hard to come by, and I settled for finding a distant American dipper at a roadside stop in Elbe where they are often found, and a quiet beautiful walk in the snow and ice at the Ashford Community Park. This park is heavily used by local children and families in the summer, but is closed to traffic at this time of year. Still I was able to take a nice walk on icy trails and catch sight of just a few birds.
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This Downy woodpecker was giving its rattle call to catch my attention, and was working in small trees. It has to be a tough living in the winter for these small woodpeckers, but this female seemed active and well.
The only other photo I managed was of a Song sparrow that was calling beside the trail. Our Pacific Northwest song sparrows will look very dark and brown to birders from other parts of North America.
Good birding.
