Had an early appointment, so Captain Jack and I were late to hit the trail this morning. The early sun had slipped behind a veil of haze—first trace of coming precipitation, I reckon—but the light was good, and there were a dozen bird species to watch and/or listen to.
A Rock Wren showed up, which was fun. And gang of fifteen deer surprised us (or me, at least) up amid the junipers. But the funnest moment was when I heard the voices of crows.
In Maine, crows appeared on my list nearly every day, whereas up in the foothills, I think I’ve only listed them a two or three times (I can recall two) in my years here. So I gasped when I heard a caw!—then another. I spied them a few hundred feet above us, eight in all, flying in a loose circle.
Seems I really miss ’em, crows.
Grandeur Peak Area List
At 8:58 a.m., sun time, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. American Robin**
2. Eurasian Collared-dove**
3. Spotted Towhee
4. California Quail
5. Northern Flicker**
6. Rock Pigeon*
7. Dark-eyed Junco
8. Rock Wren
9. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
10. House Finch**
11. Black-capped Chickadee
12. American Crow
Elsewhere
13. Song Sparrow (v)
14. California Gull
15. European Starling
16. Lesser Goldfinch
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, California gull, California quail, dark-eyed junco, Eurasian collared dove, European starling, house finch, lesser goldfinch, mule deer, northern flicker, rock pigeon, rock squirrel, rock wren, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay