A nearly cloudless, chilly morn—but not as chilly as yesterday. Soon enough, in fact, the rising sun warmed us up considerably, dog and me. And there were birds.
Heard, then saw, a male American Goldfinch. Not a migrant necessarily, but my first since last year. Two vultures moving through. A calling Red-breasted Nuthatch. A calling quail. Two scrub-jays “kissing.” A couple vultures circling, A solitary solitaire.
On our return, not far above the trailhead, I heard the sudden, loud song of a warbler in a leafing-out maple nearby. I left the trail and slid down the slope a bit and finally got a glimpse of it: a first-of-year Orange-crowned Warbler. (I’m determined now to become wholly familiar with their song.)
Tomorrow it’s supposed to get to 80° (F). I expect more new birds moving through.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 7:12 a.m. (8:12 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Song Sparrow** (v)
2. American Robin*
3. Spotted Towhee
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
5. American Goldfinch
6. Rock Pigeon*
7. Red-breasted Nuthatch
8. Townsend’s Solitaire
9. Northern Flicker** (v)
10. California Quail
11. Lesser Goldfinch* (v)
12. House Finch**
13. Cooper’s Hawk
14. Turkey Vulture
15. Dark-eyed Junco
16. Orange-crowned Warbler†
Elsewhere
17. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
Mule Deer
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American goldfinch, American robin, California quail, cooper's hawk, dark-eyed unco, house finch, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, mule deer, nothern flicker, Orange-crowned Warbler, red squirrel, red-breasted nuthatch, rock pigeon, rock squirrel, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Townsend’s solitaire, turkey vulture, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
