A warm, mostly overcast morning—but no precipitation. (Did have a shower late last night and a trace of fresh snow.) No breeze to speak of, and the footing was good for dog and me. Not many bird species, and fewer still would show themselves, but it was nice to hear the whine of a couple towhees for a change.
Mammals were out: heard a solitary singing coyote, got good looks at a cottontail, and counted six deer up the north side of little Coyote Canyon.
Back home, a pair of goldfinches stopped by. And this evening, I even heard a little Christmas Eve thunder out there—a nice segue into a holiday weekend.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 9:06 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Song Sparrow (v) 2. Black-billed Magpie** 3. House Finch** (v) 4. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 5. Rock Pigeon* 6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (v) 7. Dark-eyed Junco 8. Spotted Towhee (v)
Elsewhere
9. Northern Flicker (v) 10. Lesser Goldfinch
Mammals
Mountain Coyote (v) Mountain Cottontail Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Had a little wind this overcast morning, but none of the forecast rain showers. This suited dog and me just fine—despite the fact that temps in the 40s (F) made for some greasy trails. Still we managed all right. And despite the generally dearth of bird activity (thanks mostly to the nice, stout wind), we actually dug the hike.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 9:05 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
