This morning’s hike took dog and me along our familiar route south along the shoreline trail, up Coyote Canyon (so-called) and back via deer trails up among the junipers. There were a lot of nice surprises.
Up the in the cool shady canyon, I heard the sapsucker-like call of a female Cooper’s Hawk and got a nice look at a randomly appearing female Yellow Warbler. In the junipers, I have a favorite shady spot where I like to pause, look and listen. Warbling Vireos, Black-throated Gray Warbler, chickadees, robins. Returning I spied a tanager and oriole, heard a magpie—even caught sight of a collared dove.
Just about every bird occurs to me as a nice surprise.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Rock Pigeon* 2. Mourning Dove 3. Black-chinned Hummingbird 4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 5. Lazuli Bunting 6. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 7. House Finch** 8. Pine Siskin 9. Spotted Towhee 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. Lesser Goldfinch 12. Cooper’s Hawk (v) 13. Yellow Warbler 14. Black-throated Gray Warbler 15. Warbling Vireo (v) 16. American Robin 17. Western Tanager 18. Eurasian Collared Dove 19. Black-billed Magpie (v) 20. Bullock’s Oriole
Elsewhere
21. House Sparrow 22. Barn Swallow
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Ah, an overcast day for a change. Our morning hike was far more humid than usual, but there was no warming sun beating down on Jack’s heavy coat, and his panting eased up a bit. (Still drank all his water.)
The birds on the trails were furtive and not very vocal, but it wasn’t hard to spot usual suspects. On the other hand, a few species made themselves apparent very subtly: a voice here or there, a flit within a juniper. At one point, when a female bunting posed for photos, I stopped to oblige—and saw a second little bird perched there. A warbler, looked like.
Later, when I looked at the photos, it was easy to ID a Virginia’s Warbler. A female I believe. Never made a peep. Had I decided not to snap that pic, I would’ve missed it altogether.
Sometimes it’s the little things.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
A cool morning, a cloudless sky, a man and his dog headed up the trail again. The day began with the cries of a juvie Red-tailed Hawk and ended with the glide of a Turkey Vulture as we descended from a height.
In the interim, we encountered a load of birds—mostly (it seemed) fledgling Lazuli Buntings (a lot fewer singers than yesterday). but also a massive flock of Rock Pigeons, a flitting Black-throated Gray Warbler, and miscellaneous other usual suspects.
Our hike did include a spontaneous climb up to the cairn overlook—which left us both a little tuckered out, what with our advanced ages and all.
But seems we lived (truly lived) to see another day.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked about 1,000 feet up a mountain.
