How shall I describe this morning? A little frigid, breezy at first, utterly cloudless. Low-key at first—but the excitement built to a minor crescendo.
A bunch of scrub-jays, for one thing. A dozen at least. They were noisy, apparently engaging in some kind of late-winter territorial shenanigans. And glimpses of four Juniper Titmice. A solitary goldfinch up the deer trails—and plenty of deer up there, too. At one point they began to run in various directions, though I never saw the threat.
Encountered another song-whispering solitaire. A Golden Eagle appeared, then disappeared. I waited for a while but it did not return. Perhaps a half-hour later, I glanced up at the ridge, and there it was again, but with a partner this time.
And I heard a loud distant bird call that sounded like a gull. Couldn’t have been a gull, though—not way up toward the ridge where the eagles flew. A mystery.
And Captain Jack had a fun time, too.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 9 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch* (v)
2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* (v)
3. Black-capped Chickadee
4. Spotted Towhee** (v)
5. Rock Pigeon*
6. Black-billed Magpie**
7. Dark-eyed Junco
8. Townsend’s Solitaire
9. Juniper Titmouse
10. Lesser Goldfinch**
11. Golden Eagle
12. Northern Flicker
Elsewhere
13. Song Sparrow (v)
14. American Robin (v)
Mammals
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, golden eagle, house finch, juniper titmouse, lesser goldfinch, mule deer, northern flicker, rock pigeon, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Townsend’s solitaire, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
