The skies during this morning’s hike were mostly overcast at first, then clearing came and the sun emerged, then more clouds came. Birds were fickle, too—a few chickadees and a titmouse, a couple corvids, then a big batch more chickadees and some towhees.
Most interesting were finches. I heard house finches, then spied a pair of finches that sounded different but were too far away to ID. “Wonder if those are Cassin’s Finches,” I thought at the time.
Later, after downloading photos, I could confirm.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 9:09 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee
2. Juniper Titmouse
3. Black-billed Magpie**
4. Spotted Towhee**
5. House Finch* (v)
6. Cassin’s Finch*
7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay*
8. Rock Pigeon
9. Northern Flicker (v)
10. Red-tailed Hawk
Mammals
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, Cassin’s finch, house finch, juniper titmouse, northern flicker, red squirrel, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
