Snowed a tiny bit overnight, and the temperature still hovered right about freezing when dog and I headed up the trail. Nearly cloudless sky, though, so—once the sun topped the ridge—melting commenced.
Meanwhile, we encountered a bunch more migrants, no doubt spurred on by the extra chill.
Many yellow-rumps, quite a few kinglets, a little gang of sparrows, surprisingly few juncos, and a solitary Cooper’s Hawk. (Also a solitaire Townsend’s Solitaire, which was fun to see.)
Sky, chill, migrants—ah, the clarity of a season’s change.
Grandeur Peak Area List
At 8:58 a.m. (9:58 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
2. House Finch**
3. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
4. Yellow-rumped Warbler
5. Dark-eyed Junco
6. Rock Pigeon*
7. Red-tailed Hawk
8. Spotted Towhee
9. Townsend’s Solitaire
10. Northern Flicker*
11. Cooper’s Hawk
12. Chipping Sparrow
13. White-crowned Sparrow
14. Black-capped Chickadee
15. Black-billed Magpie* (v)
16. Pine Siskin
Elsewhere
17. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
18. California Gull
Mammals
Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, California gull, chipping sparrow, cooper's hawk, dark-eyed junco, house finch, lesser goldfinch, northern flicker, pine siskin, red squirrel, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, ruby-crowned kinglet, spotted towhee, Townsend’s solitaire, white-crowned sparrow, Woodhouse’s scrub jay, yellow-rumped warbler
