Light precipitation last night—rain in the neighborhood, snow up on the peaks—so we got a late start, dog and I. The morning was chilly and overcast, and the trails were slick with mud. I had no idea what I’d encounter.
A lot, turns out. Twenty-five species (actually 26, if you count the unidentified Empidonax), including two lifers. The first—a Black-throated Sparrow—just flitted up out of nowhere, without a sound. Was lucky to get a quick pic or two. The second was near the end of our hike, when another Empidonax popped up to a perch. Got a video of that quiet, nondescript bird, which (lucky for me) was flicking his tail down, then up—a sure sign that it was a Gray Flycatcher.
But the biggest deal for me was that right about the time the sun came out—beating all odds—I somehow managed a good look at the MacGillivray’s Warbler that’d been driving me nuts for the past four or five days.
Beyond all that, other surprise birds appeared—like my first Olive-sided Warbler in Utah, perched very near a random Dark-eyed Junco. Got real wet, slipped in mud a couple times, but felt like I’d just had some kind of serendipitous bath or something.
My tub runneth over.
24 May 2020 update: I’m told my Black-throated Sparrow was just the second reported sighting in Salt Lake County.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Mourning Dove
2. Black-billed Magpie**
3. California Quail
4. Song Sparrow* (v)
5. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
6. Black-headed Grosbeak
7. Lazuli Bunting**
8. American Robin* (v)
9. Spotted Towhee
10. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
11. Pine Siskin (v)
12. Black-chinned Hummingbird
13. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
14. Black-throated Sparrow†‡
15. Chipping Sparrow
16. House Finch* (v)
17. Warbling Vireo
18. Broad-tailed Hummingbird (wing-trill)
19. Black-throated Gray Warbler (v)
20. MacGillivray’s Warbler
21. Western Tanager
22. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
23. Gray Flycatcher†‡
24. Dark-eyed Junco
25. Olive-sided Flycatcher†
Elsewhere
26. Northern Flicker
27. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
None
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
‡Lifer
Tags: American robin, black-billd magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, black-headed grosbeak, black-throated gray warbler, black-throated sparrow, blue-gray gnatcatcher, broad-tailed hummingbird, California quail, chipping sparrow, dark-eyed junco, gray flycatcher, house finch, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, MacGillivray’s warbler, mourning dove, olive-sided flycatcher, pine siskin, song sparrow, spotted towhee, warbling vireo, western tanager, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
