Cooler this morning, with gusty winds and clouds flying by overhead. Pretty quiet headed up with dog—fewer vocalizing birds than yesterday. Also random appearances: a pair of Cooper’s Hawks, a sudden magpie.
Returning, I heard the inimitable cry of a Red-tailed Hawk. And again—again. It’s a pretty amazing sound (to me, at least), but I couldn’t spot the hawk. About a hundred yards later, I happened to spy a pair of ’em high above, facing into the wind, motionless except for an occasional wing-flap. Using their legs as rudders, they were just hanging there.
Earlier, a fog of sorts had come blowing through from the lake (looked like), then the clouds piled up on each other, and sun rays found their way through, and the wind continued to gust and blow.
Odd weather—but very cool.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 7:06 a.m. (8:06 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. American Robin*
2. Lazuli Bunting
3. Black-chinned Hummingbird
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
5. Rock Pigeon*
6. Mourning Dove
7. Spotted Towhee
8. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
9. Cooper’s Hawk
10. House Finch**
11. Black-headed Grosbeak
12. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
13. Black-billed Magpie*
14. Chipping Sparrow (v)
15. Warbling Vireo (v)
16. Red-tailed Hawk
Elsewhere
17. California Quail
18. American Crow
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-billed magpie, black-chinned hummingbird, black-headed grosbeak, blue-gray gnatcatcher, California quail, chipping sparrow, cooper's hawk, house fnch, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, rock squirrel, spotted towhee, warbling vireo, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
