Snowed overnight. Gentle, steady snow for a while—no wind to speak of (as usual, in my one winter’s experience)—accumulating to a depth of three inches or snow. Jack and I took to the trails, as usual, and had ourselves a nice hike.
There were quite a few mule deer. And birds. Robins, magpies, chickadees, towhees—even a pair of siskins. More in town (where I made a quick trip for groceries, taking pandemic precautions of course).
(My favorites today, I think, were siskin and towhee.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9:15 a.m., I hiked a couple hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie* 2. American Robin* 3. House Finch* 4. Black-capped Chickadee 5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (v) 6. Pine Siskin 7. Spotted Towhee
Elsewhere
8. Song Sparrow (v) 9. Eurasian Collared Dove 10. European Starling 11. Rock Pigeon 12. Mourning Dove 13. House Sparrow (v)
My hike with dog began as usual (albeit a bit early, to avoid the housebound “throngs”). Jack and I climbed the switchback, squinted into the sun, listened to singing Spotted Towhees. Then I heard Chukars and decided we might as well head up a deer trail to investigate.
As usual, we didn’t get anywhere near the Chukars—but we scouted new, interesting trails, passed the ribcage of a long-dead deer, enjoyed the high views. Then, on descending back to the familiar trail, I heard it, and it brought me to a stop: the song of a Canyon Wren.
I’d been waiting for it for a while but didn’t expect to hear it so soon. It came from way up the hillside we’d just descended—likely from the rocky summit ridge. Once. Twice. Three times. That was all. That was enough.
Looking forward to my second listen to that lovely song.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9:15 a.m., I hiked a couple hundred feet up the mountain.
1. American Robin** 2. Black-billed Magpie* 3. House Finch* (v) 4. Black-capped Chickadee** 5. Northern Flicker (v) 6. Rock Pigeon 7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 8. Spotted Towhee 9. Pine Siskin (v) 10. Chukar (v) 11. Canyon Wren (v) 12. California Quail (v)
Elsewhere
13. Song Sparrow 14. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Ravens are arguably my favorite birds. They’re not gaudy or beautiful, and they don’t sing a melodic song. They’re black, they croak, they steal eggs from the nest of other birds. They’re wondrous and mystical, that’s all.
They’re obviously intelligent. They’re playful—watching fledglings testing their wings is like watching children at their first amusement park—and curious. And if you’re lucky (as my dog and I have been) they’ll fly silently above you when you’re hiking a lonely trail, just to check you out.
I think the local nesting pair of ravens is getting to know Jack and me (as the resident pair at Beech Hill did). Not sure yet, but they’ll let me know.
(This morning we did the same 1,000-foot hike as yesterday. It’s a good one.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9:15 a.m., I hiked a couple hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Song Sparrow** (v) 2. American Robin* 3. House Finch* (v) 4. Black-capped Chickadee** 5. Black-billed Magpie* 6. Northern Flicker (v) 7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 8. Spotted Towhee 9. Pine Siskin (v) 10. Common Raven
Elsewhere
11. Eurasian Collared Dove (v)
Mammals
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
