Under a cloudless sky (with a slight haze of smoke), this cool morning’s hike turned out to be a pretty good one. Encountered waves of finches, spied two warblers on the move, saw eight towhees headed together in southerly direction—essentially enjoyed a little migratory action.
Captain Jack and I also had a nice visit chat with one human and a couple dog friends.
Plus, I heard the distinctively onomatopoetic calls of Chukars from high up the shady slope above us. Having had a little experience with the species, I said to Jack something like, “Wonder if I can them up on the ridge.”
And, sure enough, there they were.
Grandeur Peak Area List
At 7:13 a.m. (8:13 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch**
2. Northern Flicker (v)
3. Rock Pigeon*
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
5. Spotted Towhee
6. Mourning Dove*
7. Lesser Goldfinch*
8. Chipping Sparrow
9. Western Tanager (v)
10. Chukar
11. Virginia’s Warbler
12. Yellow-rumped Warbler
Elsewhere
13. Red-tailed Hawk
14. Black-chinned Hummingbird
15. California Quail (v)
Mammals
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-chinned hummingbird, California quail, chipping sparrow, chukar, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, northern flicker, red squirrel, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, spotted towhee, Virginia’s warbler, Woodhouse’s scrub jay, wstern tanager, yellow-rumped warbler