Of course birds aren’t the only animals I see on my daily hikes with dog. With startling regularity, I also see a number of mammals (and, in warmer weather, a couple reptiles). One mammal I’ve seen pretty often lately is the Mountain Cottontail.
I can’t remember when I saw my first exactly—last spring sometime?—but I’ve discovered they hang out in the little rocky pit near the overlook at the top of the switch back above the trailhead. Birds like the are also (not least because of the invasive-yet-fragrant-and-fruitful Russian olive trees), Rock Wrens and such. Also the Long-tailed Weasel I saw the other day.
So our first stop is this rocky cavity (perhaps an old quarry?). And even with the colder temps and recent snow, I’ve seen cottontails every few days—the past two days in fact.
Otherwise, today, I saw a very distant eagle and a bunch of the usual suspect. Kinda partial to the wild buns, though.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:13 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch*
2. Black-capped Chickadee
3. Spotted Towhee
4. Lesser Goldfinch
5. Black-billed Magpie*
6. Northern Flicker
7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
8. Golden Eagle
9. Dark-eyed Junco
10. American Robin
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-blled magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, golden eagle, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mountain cottontail, northern flicker, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
