Got to the trailhead bright and early after a surprise (light) overnight snow. Dog and I were first up the switchback (other than a mess of deer). Spied a few dozen deer loping up the slope beyond the gulch, then happened upon a long caravan of elk on the mountainside not very far above us. (One elk had a GPS collar, I noticed.)
No cervids at all yesterday. Feast or famine, I guess.
Birds were active and vocal after yesterday’s overcast and precipitation. (Not a lot of species—but a lot of individuals.) Another sunny one tomorrow, or so they say.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. House Finch*
2. Black-billed Magpie*
3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay*
4. Black-capped Chickadee*
5. Dark-eyed Junco (v)
6. Song Sparrow* (v)
Elsewhere
7. Eurasian Collared Dove
8. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
9. American Robin
10. European Starling
11. Northern Flicker
Mammals
Mule Deer
Rocky Mountain Elk
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, Eurasian collared dove, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mule deer, rocky mountain elk, song sparrow, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
