Some hikes are plain, some are fancy. Some have surprises—and some of those are pleasant surprises, some not so much. (Happy to say most are the former kind).
Today’s surprise came right off the bat: no sooner had Captain Jack and I hopped out of the pickup at the trailhead than a little gang of orioles appeared in the foliage up in front of us. First heard their alarm calls, the spied a female. I suspect a little family moving through.
Lots of those—little families moving through. Robins, buntings, towhees, vireos, chippies. It’s that happy time of year.
(Another little surprise happened in the same place right at the end of things: not an oriole—a tanager.)
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Bullock’s Oriole
2. American Robin*
3. Mourning Dove*
4. House Finch*
5. Black-capped Chickadee**
6. Rock Pigeon*
7. Lazuli Bunting
8. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
9. Black-chinned Hummingbird
10. Black-headed Grosbeak
11. Spotted Towhee
12. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
13. Pine Siskin
14. Black-billed Magpie*
15. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
16. Chipping Sparrow
17. Warbling Vireo
18. Western Tanager
Elsewhere
19. Cooper’s Hawk
20. House Sparrow
21. Barn Swallow
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, barn swallow, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbid, black-headed grosbeak, blue-gray gnatcatcher, Bullock’s oriole, chipping sparrow, cooper's hawk, house finch, house sparrow, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, pine siskin, rock pigeon, rock squirrel, spotted towhee, warbling vireo, western tanager, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
