A lovely Saturday morning with a dramatic, partly cloudy sky, a half-inch layer of fresh snow, and a slight breeze. The air tasted clean. Few birds to start—although including a Mountain Chickadee (voice only)—but some high excitement toward the end of our hike, dog and me.
My count was ten species when I spied the Bald Eagle above the rocky ridge. It was a young eagle, and I took a bunch of pictures of it in flight. Less then a minute after it sailed away, I saw another soaring shape—a Common Raven. First raven I’ve seen since June, and I really love those guys, so I have to declare that the highlight of the morning.
Nice to see a couple big birds again.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:21 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie
2. Mountain Chickadee (v)
3. Spotted Towhee
4. House Finch**
5. Dark-eyed Junco
6. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
7. Northern Flicker
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Downy Woodpecker
10. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
11. Bald Eagle
12. Common Raven
13. Rock Pigeon
14. Pine Siskin (v)
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
(v) Voice only
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: bald eagle, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, common raven, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mountain chickadee, mountain cottontail, northern flicker, pine siskin, rock pigeon, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
