7 November 2026

Archive for September, 2019

Nip in the Air, Part 2

Thursday, September 12th, 2019
Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay camo, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 12 September 2019.
Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay in camo.
Olive-sided Flycatcher, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 12 September 2019.
Olive-sided Flycatcher.

Forty-seven degrees this morning. A nice crisp hike. Interesting bird activity—including a few random occurrences (Olive-sided Flycatcher, another Warbling Vireo, a pair of dueling kestrels high on the ridge).

Gets nippy in a hurry up here at where the air is thin.

Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:15 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.

1. House Finch*
2. Spotted Towhee (v)
3. Cooper’s Hawk
4. Olive-sided Flycatcher
5. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* (v)
7. American Kestrel
8. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
9. Warbling Vireo
10. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (v)

Elsewhere

11. Eurasian Collared Dove
12. California Quail
13. House Sparrow
14. Black-billed Magpie
15. American Robin
16. Rock Pigeon

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

Nip in the Air

Wednesday, September 11th, 2019
The magpie sashay, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 11 September 2019.
The magpie sashay.

More thundershowers today, but much cooler—low 50s (F). (First of the month, 100 degrees; ten days later, half that.) The chill prompted quite a bit of bird activity among the usual neighborhood suspects.

Looking forward to our hike in the morning, dog and me.

East Millcreek List
No mountain hike today, but here’s what I saw and/or heard.

1. House Finch
2. Eurasian Collared Dove
3. House Sparrow
4. California Quail
5. Rock Pigeon
6. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
7. Black-billed Magpie
8. European Starling

v = Voice only

Cooler

Tuesday, September 10th, 2019
White-crowned Sparrow (juvie), East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 10 September 2019.
White-crowned Sparrow (juvie).
Portrait of Spotted Towhee, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 10 September 2019.
Portrait of Spotted Towhee.

More thundershowers today. A couple early, and then Jack and I took a hike, and then a few later in the day. Much cooler—maybe 60 and breezy when we embarked—but refreshing and fun.

Saw a couple birds up the mountainside that I didn’t get a good look at but imagine might’ve been migrants. (Both passerines, one with a lot of yellow on it, and the other with a peculiar call I did not know.) Also saw a random White-crowned Sparrow—first of the species on my Utah list.

Descending, a few other species showed up, including a towhee that sat for a portrait.

Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:45 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.

1. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
2. Black-billed Magpie*
3. House Finch*
4. Spotted Towhee
5. Lesser Goldfinch**
6. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay*
8. White-crowned Sparrow
9. American Robin
10. Downy Woodpecker
11. Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Elsewhere

12. House Sparrow
13. Eurasian Collared Dove
14. Rock Pigeon
15. California Quail
16. Hairy Woodpecker (v)

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

 
Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson



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