
Melted snow and sun and insects, cottontail and deer, singing birds in numbers. What a difference a day makes, eh? Another quick hike with Jack—but more like spring, this one.
Fifteen species in all this morning on the hill, and another five elsewhere. Many robins moving through, and first waxwings of the year.
The April chill will remain for a bit, but the photoperiod lengthens.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 7:42 a.m. (8:42 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch*
2. American Robin*
3. Dark-eyed Junco
4. Spotted Towhee
5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
6. Black-capped Chickadee
7. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
8. Northern Flicker (v)
9. Song Sparrow** (v)
10. Rock Pigeon*
11. Cassin’s Finch
12. Cooper’s Hawk
13. Pine Siskin (v)
14. Black-billed Magpie*
15. Lesser Goldfinch*
Elsewhere
16. European Starling
17. Eurasian Collared-dove
18. House Sparrow
19. Downy Woodpecker
20. Cedar Waxwing†
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, Cassin’s finch, Cedar waxwing, cooper's hawk, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, Eurasian collared dove, European starling, house finch, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, mountain cottontail, mule deer, northern flicker, pine siskin, red-breasted nuthatch, rock pigeon, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay