Clouds covered much of the sky for much of this warm summer day. We hiked this morning, dog and I, under the blanket of an overcast. It kept us rather warm, that blanket—but not so warm that we didn’t throughly enjoy a rather uneventful time of it.
There were moments, though: a surprise visit from goldfinches, the voices of three Cooper’s Hawks (two of them youngsters, a chase of three hummingbirds. Missed some photos, got a few others. A comfort.
Back home, I had two surprises: the red-tail returning to its tall utility pole (the overcast likely made such exposure more bearable), and a Downy Woodpecker popped up on a tree trunk just off the back deck. There’s even a chance of a thundershower out there—and will be for a day so.
Gotta admit, little rain would be appreciated by all us living things.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 6:47 a.m. (7:47 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch*
2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
3. Lazuli Bunting
4. Rock Pigeon*
5. American Robin*
6. Pine Siskin (v)
7. Lesser Goldfinch**
8. Black-chinned Hummingbird
9. Black-billed Magpie*
10. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
11. Spotted Towhee
12. Cooper’s Hawk (v)
13. Black-capped Chickadee
Elsewhere
14. House Sparrow
15. Red-tailed Hawk
14. Downy Woodpecker
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, cooper's hawk, downy woodpecker, house finch, house sparrow, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, pine siskin, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
