A cool but sunny morning, destined to be a warm midday, and for some reason dog and I headed up to the eastern ridge—and kept right on going. I didn’t bring a lot of water, but I guessed (correctly) that there’d be snow up there, so Jack had plenty of water. Even thought of continuing up to Grandeur Peak again, but we’re two years older now, and both have semi-creaky joints.
So we stopped at about 7,500 feet.
But what an accomplishment. We both felt it. We also felt a few aches and pains—but there was scenery, there were smells, there were birds and deer and distances.
Hell of a hike. Dog’s been snoozin’, and I had to take an ibuprofen.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 7:56 a.m., sun time, I hiked about 2,500 feet up a mountain.
1. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 2. American Robin* 3. Rock Pigeon* 4. House Finch** 5. Spotted Towhee 6. Pine Siskin** 7. Northern Flicker* (v) 8. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 9. Chukar 10. Townsend’s Solitaire 11. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12. Common Raven 13. Song Sparrow* (v)
Elsewhere
14. House Sparrow (v) 15. California Quail 16. Lesser Goldfinch 17. Eurasian Collared-dove (v) 18. European Starling
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Sure enough snowed a little overnight—and into this morning for a few hours. Very light snow, but wet enough (and chilly enough) to convince me to wait for a clearing. And when it came we headed up, dog and I.
And a grand hike it was, mostly because of the siskins. Pine Siskins everywhere—individuals, small batches, good-sized flocks. I heard and/or saw siskins at every point during our hike. (Vocal birds, siskins. Even an solo individual can sound like a squabbling family of ’em.)
The trace of spring snow and the siskin invasion were probably related somehow. Perhaps also the lone Cooper’s hawk perched nonchalantly in the tree overlooking the little old Monarch quarry.
On our return trip, the sun emerged. An enjoyable time was had by all.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 9:49 a.m., sun time, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. American Robin* 2. House Finch** 3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 4. Pine Siskin 5. Spotted Towhee 6. Dark-eyed Junco 7. Rock Pigeon* 8. Cooper’s Hawk 9. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 10. Song Sparrow* (v)
Elsewhere
11. European Starling 12. Lesser Goldfinch 13. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Mule Deer Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
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.
Rock Wren.
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
