Another fun morning hike. Even before the hike, in fact: the first bird I spied this early morning—perched on the tip of a conifer out front of the house—was a first-of-year species (Brown-headed Cowbird).
But during the hike proper—which happened on a nippy morning (40s (F) to start, in the mountain shade) turning into a warmish morning—I counted lots of species, failed at tracking a couple of new songs, but managed to tally a new lifer and see a bunch of hummingbirds.
The lifer: a Plumbeous Vireo, which I first heard, than caught a glimpse of. Alas, no photo, though. (Yet.)
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie*
2. American Robin*
3. Black-capped Chickadee
4. Spotted Towhee
5. Song Sparrow** (v)
6. Lazuli Bunting
7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay*
8. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
9. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
10. Hermit Thrush
11. Pine Siskin (v)
12. Chipping Sparrow
13. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
14. Black-headed Grosbeak
15. House Finch*
16. Black-throated Gray Warbler
17. Orange-crowned Warbler
18. Cooper’s Hawk (v)
19. Virginia’s Warbler
20. California Quail*
21. Plumbeous Vireo‡†
22. Black-chinned Hummingbird
23. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
Elsewhere
24. Brown-headed Cowbird†
25. European Starling
26. Rock Pigeon
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
‡Lifer
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, black-headed grosbeak, black-throated gray warbler, blue-gray gnatcatcher, broad-tailed hummingbird, brown-headed cowbird, California quail, chipping sparrow, cooper's hawk, European starling, hermit thrush, house finch, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, mountain cottontail, Orange-crowned Warbler, pine siskin, plumbeous vireo, red-breasted nuthatch, rock pigeon, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Virginia’s warbler, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
