A cooler morning—temps in the low 50s (F)—with something of a breeze. The high would end up higher than yesterday, but in shade this morning, I felt just a tiny bit chilly in my t-shirt. But as soon as we entered a sunny patch, dog and I, the morning proved perfectly comfortable.
Still not many birds, nor much birdsong, but a nice selection. The most numerous species? House Finch—with 20 individuals. Maybe they’ve fledged some youngsters and everyone had gone out for a spin.
Tomorrow will begin cool again, but the temperature’s supposed to rise to three digits (F) by evening. Guess we’ll see.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:35 a.m. (8:35 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Cooler this morning, with gusty winds and clouds flying by overhead. Pretty quiet headed up with dog—fewer vocalizing birds than yesterday. Also random appearances: a pair of Cooper’s Hawks, a sudden magpie.
Returning, I heard the inimitable cry of a Red-tailed Hawk. And again—again. It’s a pretty amazing sound (to me, at least), but I couldn’t spot the hawk. About a hundred yards later, I happened to spy a pair of ’em high above, facing into the wind, motionless except for an occasional wing-flap. Using their legs as rudders, they were just hanging there.
Earlier, a fog of sorts had come blowing through from the lake (looked like), then the clouds piled up on each other, and sun rays found their way through, and the wind continued to gust and blow.
Odd weather—but very cool.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:06 a.m. (8:06 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Another dry, breezy morning without a lot or singing birds. The residents have nests, seems sure, and a few species are still moving through.
For instance, the first-of-year Western Kingbird we happened upon, dog and I. Heard it first, didn’t recognize its voice—I haven’t encountered more than a handful, and only one or two in spring—then managed a photo from a distance. Six vultures circled through also. The rest (of only fourteen spp. total) were locals.
In other news, for the second straight day I watched a pair of gnatcatchers chase a scrub-jay from its perch in the big Russian olive tree.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:09 a.m. (8:09 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
