Bird of the Week, 26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nmom51HIiE


Primarily a mountain bird, this weeks bird of the week is a prize for most birders. Mostly found north of the US/Canadian border, they will move farther down the mountain and farther south in winter so this is often the time of year when they are sought. Many years in Deschutes County, you have to snowshoe to find them, they rarely go below 4500 feet but this year it is much easier to find them because there is very little show on the roads and trails. Tuesday, I went up to Santiam Pass and after getting a brief glimpse of them fly by, I went across the road over near Big Lake and found about six birds high in the trees where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses FR 811 also known as the The Old Santiam Wagon Rd. Unfortunately they were in the trees between me and the sun so Photos were almost impossible. I returned on Thursday morning and located about 20 birds next to the Summit Lake Trail where it branches off the PCT.


These lovely birds have a name that would lead you to believe they were more in the family of Cardinals and Tanagers but they are not. Good luck with this challenge. In the first half of the video of this male, you can hear the rest of the flock calling in the background. Happy birding.