Cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon. We hiked in morning under a cloudless sky, dog and I, and the sun warmed us up nicely. Few other humans or dogs, but quite a few good birds—e.g., a female Western Tanager.
But most noteworthy might’ve been three raptors: one of the resident Cooper’s Hawks, a pair of Golden Eagles perched high on the ridge (first eagles in a while), and, on our return, a lone soaring Red-Tailed Hawk.
(Lots of little hummingbirds, too.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:28 a.m. (8:28 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Cool, fair, little breeze, little birds all over the place. Had fun seeking out a few of the usual hard-to-catch suspects. But today’s first-of-year species was an American Kestrel. Just happened to spot it circling high above us.
Probably had a few better photos, but for some reason this one somehow typifies the fun dog and I had up the mountain this morning.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:52 a.m. (8:52 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
This morning’s excursion was a fun one. What started as a day when every bird I pointed my camera at immediately flew away ended with three successful chases. One successful chase is an occasion to celebrate—but three?
First was a flycatcher I heard near the lopped-of scrub oaks, the spot where I’ve spied Dusky Flycatchers multiple times already, and it sounded like a dusky, but it fluttered way down the slope before I could get a look. Still hear it, though, so I crept down a ways and finally spied it on the tip of a tree. Yahtzee!
Second was a Warbling Vireo. I’ve heard this species calling nearly every day down in the leafy gully where it had a nest last year, but I’ve not had a chance for a decent photo. This morning, it might’ve been a different bird, because it was singing up the slope a ways, in a lone maple tree. Assuming I’d not succeed, as usual, I nevertheless crept up the deer trails until, by damn, I spotted the singer. Clickclickclick! A bunch of photos.
Third, a Virginia’s Warbler. The song I heard sounded like it came from one, but I couldn’t be absolutely sure, so—again—I started up the slope (from where I’d seen the vireo) until I found a long view of it in a snag about a hundred feet away. A Virginia’s for sure. Click!
Three successful chases. (No dips!) On a lovely, mostly overcast morning.
[Note: this day was exceptional also in that I spied my first Wild Turkey in Utah. It was strolling across a residential street down in the neighborhood.]
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:55 a.m. (8:55 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
