Another fine winter hike this morning. Overcast, but not too chilly. A layer of fresh snow, but not enough to cause us to slip and slide, dog and I. The usual suspects, bird-wise—and plenty of mule deer snoozing on the mountainsides.
Near the end of it—in a place where juncos and chickadees were flitting about and vocalizing—I heard a call I didn’t recognize. Almost like the song of a Northern Parula, but it wasn’t. (Not only because parulas are eastern warblers, but because the quality of the call was notably different.)
Have no idea what it was. Maybe I’ll find out someday.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 10:15 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay*
3. House Finch*
4. Downy Woodpecker
5. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
6. Black-billed Magpie*
7. Northern Flicker
8. Song Sparrow (v)
9. Dark-eyed Junco
v = Voice only
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, house finch, lesser goldfinch, northern flicker, song sparrow, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
