West Mountain, Valley Co., Idaho (9/13/09)

Cascade Reservoir from West Mountain, looking northeast

I explored up West Mountain (Valley Co.) a bit on my way home from Boise a couple weeks ago. This is a very attractive area and it seems to me birding could be quite good along the road up to the ridge in breeding season. The road is actually in pretty good shape although narrow in spots due to encroaching vegetation. I only went as far as the main West Mountain ridge but one could continue further west into the mountain range and eventually all the way to Council. There is a lookout on a bald further west that also looks interesting. There was a Dusky Grouse carcass at the saddle/road intersection. Complete eBird list is below.

More photos of area here: http://tinyurl.com/ydhy5qy

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Location: West Mountain Saddle
Observation date: 9/13/09
Notes: This is the first main (West Mountain) ridge line up USFS Road #435 - about 20 minutes from the west side of Cascade Lake (West Mountain Rd.) A nice area of mixed conifers w/ jeep tracks going north and south from the saddle. The road up looks like it could be quite good in the breeding season w/ lot of deciduous understory. Also some great views of Cascade Res. along the way. A Dusky Grouse carcass was near the saddle. There is also a warming hut for snow mobilers.
Number of species: 12

Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Steller's Jay 1
Clark's Nutcracker 3
Common Raven 2
Mountain Chickadee 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Chipping Sparrow 20
Dark-eyed Junco 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)