Much unlike yesterday’s lowery overcast, this morning’s sky had no clouds in it, and the air carried quite a chill. Still fun to watch the doings of the wild bird life—especially, this morning, the Black-chinned Hummingbirds.
Broad-tails are also nesting around here somewhere, but it’s the black-chinneds that are zipping around everywhere above the scrubby surrounds. I’ve learned the peculiar hum their wings make as they zip by, as well as the fluty sounds those wings can emit when they’re doing their “U” display—zip up, pause zip down and up, pause, back and forth in the exaggerated shape of the alphabets twenty-first letter.
Today, I watched this display in minature, as a black-chinned made little declarative U’s in front of clump of sagebrush. I spied another hummer within the slump—rival? potential mate?—as the U-maker decided to perch for a bit.
That’s when I took this picture.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 7:11 a.m. (8:11 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
2. Lazuli Bunting
3. Black-headed Grosbeak (v)
4. House Finch**
5. Black-chinned Hummingbird
6. Spotted Towhee
7. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
8. Chipping Sparrow
9. Cooper’s Hawk
10. Lesser Goldfinch
11. Warbling Vireo
12. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
13. Black-billed Magpie*
14. Black-throated Gray Warbler (v)
15. Chukar (v)
16. Orange-crowned Warbler (v)
17. Mourning Dove
18. California Quail (v)
19. Dusky Flycatcher
20. Pine Siskin (v)
Elsewhere
21. Eurasian Collared-dove (v)
22. American Robin
23. Song Sparrow (v)
24. European Starling
Mammals
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, black-headed grosbeak, black-throated gray warbler, blue-gray gnacatcher, California quail, chipping sparrow, chukar, Cooper’s hawk, dusky flycatcher, Eurasian collared-dove, European starling, house finch, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, Orange-crowned Warbler, pine siskin, red squirrel, song sparrow, warbling vireo, Woodhouse’s scrub-jay, Woodhouse’s scrub-jay spotted towhee
