A morning much like yesterday’s, but sunnier, less breezy—and dog and I were about a half-hour later hitting the trailhead. Still no flood of new migrants, but lots of buntings, one or two active Cooper’s Hawks, warblers, chippies, and the rest. Also a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
I’d kind of forgotten about gnatcatchers, so it was a nice surprise to encounter a first-of-year male. Immediately recognized its thin, insistent voice, then watched it poke about the scrub oaks a bit. Fun.
Lovely day, truly. More first-of-years to come, and a fair week ahead to greet them.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:47 a.m. (8:47 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
I hadn’t planned to hike with dog to the ridge this morning, but then I caught sight of a Black-throated Gray Warbler. Eager for my first photo of one this spring, I followed the bird uphill, from juniper to juniper, until it flitted back down below. Foiled again.
But while I was up there, I noticed how close we were to a plastic bag I’d seen flapping in the breeze from a scrub oak snag a few days ago. So I climbed higher to grab that annoying bit of litter. Then we encountered a small herd of deer, which moved up to the ridge, and I thought, Why not? Spooked a couple Chukars up there.
First-of-year Hermit Thrush (for sure) this morning. Realized the trill I’ve been hearing the past couple days belonged to an Orange-crowned Warbler. No corvids, oddly—but a total of 18 species.
Tomorrow won’t be so long a hike, but who knows what birds will appear.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:23 a.m. (8:23 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
We stepped out early to avoid the Sunday crowds. A bit chillier than yesterday, parts of it overcast and parts of it sunny. Fewer birds than yesterday to start—but up little Coyote Canyon came some strange voices. Not unfamiliar, just unheard for a while.
One trill, in fact, I could not ID. (Some kind of warbler, I believe.) And another—a note—I did not recognize. Saw neither bird. Nor did I see the first-of-year Black-throated Gray warbler that kept singing from the junipers. I might’ve spied it, but we met a friendly, talkative couple coming the other way along the deer trail. At least I pointed out the song to them and told them the name of the little bird.
Mostly sunny later. Still waiting for that bodacious spring migration day.d
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7 a.m. (8 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
