The Sunrise Visitor Center is located at the timberline, about 6400 feet in elevation. Along the treeline were Golden-crowned Kinglets. I hiked up from there into the alpine tundra. Hoary Marmots moved among the rocks.
About a mile up the trail, on First Burroughs Mountain, I found Horned Lark, Water Pipit, Common Raven, and a small flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches.
There were amazing views in all directions as I headed for Second Burroughs Mountain and up to the snowline below Mount Rainier.
Farther up, on Second Buroughs Mountain, I sat on a rock to take a break from the high-elevation hiking and take in the scenery. I was now just below the snowline and still hadn't seen my 'target bird'. After hearing something behind a rock about twenty feet from where I was sitting, I noticed a head pop out on one side of it. It was my 'life' White-tailed Ptarmigan!
Eventually, I found three of them as they allowed me to get some nice photos. Their plumage perfectly camouflaged them against the rocky background. Who knows how many more I didn't notice there?
It was tough to leave the Ptarmigans and the superb views. It was a long, but enjoyable, walk back to the car.
On the way back down, I stopped at Shadow Lake, a tiny lake located just below the treeline, that produced Mountain Chickadee, Violet-green Swallow, and my first Gray Jays. Driving down from the visitor center, I stopped at Fryingpan Creek and found Vaux's Swifts overhead. I searched in vain for Three-toed Woodpecker at the Chinook Pass Summit and then turned off Route 410 onto Route 123. I spotted a single American Dipper diving into the water at the base of Silver Falls, located just above Ohanepecosh Campground. I headed east on Route 12 to the entrance to Oak Creek Canyon, just west of Naches, where I spent a restless night sleeping in the car.
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