In the cool, cool of the mountains is what we all said as eleven of us journeyed to Forest Rd 300 near Strawberry to not only get out of the heat but to bird. The temperature actually got down to 61 degrees at one point and was never above 69 degrees at the near 7,000 ft altitude. The birders were Helayn Aranguena, Eleanor Campbell, Marshall Esty, Shirley Fackleman, Darlene Gatto, Vera Markham, Carolyn Modeen, Donna Smith, Chuck Richard, Annie Teff and George Wall (leader).

The scenery was absolutely beautiful with abundant flowers and green trees of all types. At one point, we had a gorgeous view down into the distant valley which made the trip worthwhile by itself. At first we were a little disappointed in the number of birds seen at the first few stops, but then we hit a small flock foraging through the trees and meadow and we got breathtaking views of two male Lazuli Buntings.

We intended to bird longer than the 4 hours (7-11 a.m.) we were there, but the rain came making birding almost impossible. We did drive down to the scenic Potato Lake for one last look before heading back home. We did note that fire had passed through this area not long ago, but still the lake itself was nice.

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