Right about freezing when dog and I hit the trail. But as the sun rose above the ridge, you could see that the landscape had changed: two-three inches of snow from two days ago, gone on the southern exposures. And I hear the weekend days will be warmer still—again springlike.
Not great groups of birds today, but a nice species list. Notable was the solitary Cooper’s Hawk that we spooked from a tree below us. Three finch species.
And robins down by the house—where the snow had melted in the yard.
Grandeur Peak Area List
At 08:54 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch** (v)
2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
3. Rock Pigeon*
4. Spotted Towhee** (v)
5. Pine Siskin (v)
6. Lesser Goldfinch* (v)
7. Cooper’s Hawk
8. Black-capped Chickadee**
9. Dark-eyed Junco
10. Black-billed Magpie* (v)
Elsewhere
11. Song Sparrow
12. American Robin
13. European Starling
14. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Red Squirrel
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, cooper's hawk, dark-eyed junco, European starling, house finch, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, mule deer, pine siskin, red squirrel, rock pigeon, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
