Another quiet hike to start—although a truly lovely walk with dog—and the third straight without my Downy Woodpecker friend. However, in the burnt patch, I got about a two-second glimpse of what looked to me like a Cooper’s Hawk sailing down into the Coyote Canyon area. That’s all it took for Capt. Jack and I to head that way.
We followed deer trails we’d never followed before—a thing we both love to do—and got fresh views of the familiar landscape. Passed towhees and chickadees. I scanned all the treetops for a perching hawk. Nothing.
But on our return I spied a small, fluttering hawk pass by, circle a time or two, and soar into the upper air above us. I couldn’t be sure about the Cooper’s ID, but I can usually tell a Sharp-shinned Hawk when I see one.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 9:06 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee
2. House Finch*
3. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* (v)
5. Rock Pigeon*
6. Spotted Towhee*
7. Black-billed Magpie**
8. Northern Flicker (v)
9. Dark-eyed Junco (v)
10. Sharp-shinned Hawk
Elsewhere
11. European Starling
12. Eurasian Collared-dove
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, Eurasian collared dove, European starling, house finch, lesser goldfinch, northern flicker, rock pigeon, sharp-shinned hawk, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
