Dog and I reverted to our usual hiking time this morning, deciding that the cool early shade might deliver as many species as later sunny, buggier conditions—plus, be more pleasant in the current warm, dry conditions. (Those conditions, by the way, are expected to change within a couple days, as a big cold front blows in.)
Still pretty quiet, with little obvious activity—but I dig a birding challenge and so have rather liked this pre-migration lull. Plus, I had a nice surprise bird: a lone female (perhaps immature male) Wilson’s Warbler popped up in shady Coyote Canyon near a pod of chatty chickadees.
And this afternoon at home—like icing on a cake—an immature Rufous Hummingbird made an appearance in the garden.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Mourning Dove
2. Black-billed Magpie* (v)
3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
4. Rock Pigeon*
5. Spotted Towhee
6. Black-capped Chickadee*
7. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
8. Wilson’s Warbler
9. Downy Woodpecker
10. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
11. Black-chinned Hummingbird
12. American Robin
13. House Finch**
14. Lesser Goldfinch**
Elsewhere
15. California Quail
16. Rufous Hummingbird
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
Reptiles
Side-blotched Lizard
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billd magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, broad=tailed hummingbird, California quail, downy woodpecker, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, rock pigeon, rock squirel, rock squirrel, rufous hummingbird, side-blotched lizard, spotted towhee, Wilson's warbler, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
