A cloudy, cool morning with a bit of a breeze greeted us at the parking lot. As we set off, right at the trailhead we were treated to two adult Cooper’s Hawks in a snag. They then flew about for a few minutes before disappearing into the forest. We set out and were accompanied by Chestnut-backed Chickadees as we headed towards Yew Lake. Stopping to check out plants along the way, we noted Bunchberry berries, Copperbush berries, Pearly Everlasting in flower and Fireweed. A small flock of Band-tailed Pigeons made a quick flyover. Along the way we came across a fen with a patch of Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus in full bloom, and lots of cotton grass seed heads dotted the edges of the wet areas.

As we reached the last look out on Yew Lake a bird skittered off into the undergrowth along the ground, dark brown with a short tail that Angela thought might have been an American Dipper. We had been hoping for one as they have been seen there on the lake in previous years but we couldn’t ID the bird for sure. Six Green-winged Teal took off from the lake just after we got to the look out. Staying behind was a lone young Common Goldeneye which eventually took off, wings whistling. A flock of 17 calling Red Crossbills flew over while an unidentified woodpecker drummed across the lake. We also looked at the Buckbean and Yellow Pond Lilies in the water and got a close up look at some Partridgefoot by the path there.

On the way to the Old Growth Loop we heard more chickadees and a few Dark-eyed Juncos. At the entrance to the loop we stopped to look at blue Queen’s Cup berries and the last of the Sticky False Asphodel, Western Bog-Laurel, and Slender Bog-Orchids. In the old growth we noted the continual fading of the Western Coralroot that we had seen on our previous walks. We also heard a Pacific Wren and at least one Evening Grosbeak. Hitting the main trail again we noted some Deer Fern along the way and some lovely orange Amanita mushrooms with white spots. Mountain Ash still has some berries, as did the Clasping Twistedstalk.

At the end of the trail we checked on the Round-leaved Sundew patch and 4 Black Swifts made a brief appearance overhead. Angela found a couple of Bird’s nest fungi attached to a stick and everyone had a nice close look at them. As we exited the trail we heard a Common Yellowthroat calling from the patch of reeds by the pond, and Golden-crowned Kinglets twittered overhead. Our eBird list is here https://ebird.org/checklist/S272087664

Another interesting walk for us at Yew lake and sadly the last of the season.

Trip report by Angela Hansen and Neill Vanhinsberg