The past few days have brought a little excitement up the deer trail. This morning was a lovely one, with an interesting sky, deer and cottontail—and an unexpected Steller’s Jay. In fact, I heard a second Steller’s a bit farther up (they were both hiding in junipers but loudly vocalizing). And the near one even had the decency to pop up and pose for a photo or two.
(I’ve only seen this species three or four times since my move here, but now I believe I’ve learned a lot about its voice—shook-shook-shook, growl, and rattle.)
I had fifteen rather active bird species on my trail list today. Kind of feels like spring is on the way.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:41 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch*
2. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
3. Cassin’s Finch
4. Black-capped Chickadee
5. Juniper Titmouse (v)
6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
7. American Robin** (v)
8. Townsend’s Solitaire
9. Rock Pigeon*
10. Black-billed Magpie**
11. Dark-eyed Junco*
12. Steller’s Jay
13. Northern Flicker
14. Spotted Towhee (v)
15. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Elsewhere
16. Song Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
Mule Deer
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, Cassin’s finch, dark-eyed junco, house finch, juniper titmouse, lesser goldfinch, mountain cottontail, mule deer, northern flicker, red squirrel, red-breastd nuthatch, rock pigeon, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Steller’s jay, Townsend’s solitaire, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
