Chilly, breezy morning. Sweatshirt weather again. But within a few minutes of beginning my hike with dog, I could tell it was gonna be a big day.
Bird after bird after bird. Species after species. A pair of Western Tanagers, an Olive-sided Warbler with a yellow jacket in its beak, two sparrow species, two warblers, three hummingbirds. I took nearly 900 photos. (Took a while to winnow them down to a couple hundred or so.)
And for the first time I heard the sweet calls of the wren—whose photo was the best of the bunch, I decided.
From four species Tuesday to 22 this morning. A fun day for sure.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:17 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
2. Mourning Dove*
3. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
4. Spotted Towhee
5. House Finch**
6. Black-chinned Hummingbird
7. Black-capped Chickadee
8. Rock Wren
9. Western Tanager
10. American Robin
11. Olive-sided Flycatcher
12. Rufous Hummingbird
13. Lesser Goldfinch* (v)
14. Northern Flicker (v)
15. Vesper Sparrow
16. Townsend’s Warbler†
17. Brewer’s Sparrow
18. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
19. Virginia’s Warbler
20. Downy Woodpecker
21. Pine Siskin
22. Black-billed Magpie*
Elsewhere
23. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
24. California Quail
25. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†Lifer
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, Brewer’s sparrow, broad-tailed hummingbird, California quail, downy woodpecker, Eurasian collared dove, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mountain cottontail, mourning dove, northern flicker, olive-sided flycatcher, pine siskin, red-breasted nuthatch, rock wren, rufous hummingbird, spotted towhee, Townsend’s warbler, vesper sparrow, Virginia’s warbler, western tanager, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
