This nice morning’s hike, under (mostly) overcast skies, was surprisingly quiet—for most of it. For nearly all of it, in fact, there were few birds to see or hear. Magpie, finch, junco, flicker. My list had seven species when we started back down toward the switchback.
Then we encountered chickadees, and I spied a kinglet, and heard the voices of a Steller’s Jay. That changed things. Because I decided I wanted a photo of the jay.
So we left the trail, dog and I. And retraced our steps, ascending again, chasing the voice of the jay. Which turned out to be two jays, no three. Four—fur Steller’s Jays.
Finally got a few pic. None that great, but I didn’t care.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 8:07 a.m. (9:07 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
I saw a crow today. Actually, two crows. I so rarely see crows out here in the Mountain West—occasionally I see them hanging around the supermarket parking lots in town, but only two or three times have I encountered a crow on my hikes in the Wasatch foothills with dog.
Back in Maine, it was a rare day when I didn’t hear or see multiple American Crows. Every fall about this time, in fact, they’d hold large conventions in the Beech Hill blueberry barrens—scores of them, Maybe hundreds.
Well, I saw a pair of them this morning, flying in the blue high above us. A pair of crows. It was a thrill.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 7:54 a.m. (8:54 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Yellow-rumped Warbler 2. Black-billed Magpie** 3. House Finch 4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 5. Rock Pigeon* 6. Pine Siskin (v) 7. Spotted Towhee 8. Northern Flicker 9. American Crow 10. American Goldfinch (v) 11. Black-capped Chickadee 12. Dark-eyed Junco 13. American Robin 14. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
Elsewhere
15. Song Sparrow
Mammals
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
In more than two years in Utah, I’ve only seen one species of owl. I saw it again today—not only the same species, I might add, but very possibly the same individual bird.
I’m talking about a Northern Pygmy Owl. Saw one today about a hundred feet from where I first encountered one last November. (Saw what I presume was the same owl a couple of times not long after that, in the same general area.) Since these fierce little birds live only three years or so, it might be a different one, I suppose—but they’re uncommon at such a low elevation.
“Eyes” on the back of the owl’s head.
One thing I documented this time around—hiking in a graupel shower with dog—was this species “eyes” in the back of its head, thought to be intended to confound mobbing songbirds). They really do look like eyes.
Today’s wintry mix will have passed by tomorrow, I hear. Wonder what’ll turn up in the morning.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 8:47 a.m. (9:47 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
