Another lovely morning up the trails with dog. A chillier morning, mostly sunny, calm, a bare trace of snow. We met no other dog or human—just a mule deer, a couple-three rock squirrels, and a goodly assortment of birds.
Among them, up along the deer trail in the juniper barren, a pair of Juniper Titmice. I heard one first, a few trees up, and decided to stalk it. Got a couple distant photos, then it zipped toward and past us a couple trees down. Snuck down that way but didn’t hear nor see it. Stood still in the shade of a juniper. At least a full minute later, I realized it was poking about in the branches directly above us.
[Jack, such a patient birding companion, remained as motionless as I was.]
It stayed hidden within the juniper for another minute or so before flitting away to the next tree over, accompanied by a second titmouse. A pair.
The next few minutes I spent angling for at least one decent photo—which I think I might even have managed.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:44 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Spotted Towhee**
2. Dark-eyed Junco
3. House Finch*
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
5. Rock Pigeon*
6. Song Sparrow* (v)
7. Black-billed Magpie*
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Northern Flicker** (v)
10. Townsend’s Solitaire
11. Juniper Titmouse
Elsewhere
12. House Sparrow (v)
13. American Robin
14. European Starling
Mammals
Mule Deer
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, European starling, house finch, house sparrow, juniper titmouse, mule deer, northern flicker, rock pigeon, rock squirrel, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Townsend’s solitaire, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
