A little nippy this morning. We had no human company on the trail, dog and I, until most of our hike was over. Plenty of wildlife, though.
Mountain Coyote.
For one instance, I spied at least three cottontails hopping around in the grass. For another, I caught sight of a coyote up one grassy slope, eyeing us attentively. For a third, I stumbled onto two lifers, bird-wise. (One, the MacGillivray’s Warbler, had been driving me nuts for two days prior—never got a glimpse of the bird and couldn’t match its song. Today I got a swift peek.)
The weather was mixed but pleasant. The trail seemed friendly, the surroundings turning lush. Tonight will come some rain—so tomorrow might be lusher.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:45 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
East Millcreek List No mountain hike today, but here’s what I saw and/or heard.
Northern Flicker (red-shafted race).
In the past week or so I’ve seen my first red-shafted flickers. Kind of fun. More than kind of fun, all these new bird species (and, in this case, races).
And since fall migration is winding up, it’s an especially exciting time of year.
1. House Finch (v) 2. House Sparrow 3. Black-billed Magpie 4. Eurasian Collared Dove 5. Rock Pigeon 6. California Quail 7. Northern Flicker (red-shafted race) 8. Western Tanager 9. Black-chinned Hummingbird 10. Cliff Swallow 11. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 12. Turkey Vulture
Caterpillars at Beech Hill this morning—caterpillars everwhere. I watched one climb a strand of silk, watched another just hang there. And I saw several getting their brains bashed out by warblers and vireos.
Caterpillar on a strand.
Among the vireos, a Philadelphia stood out: only the second I’ve seen up there (I’m pretty sure). I also saw a solitary Cliff Swallow being herded through the air by an angry hummingbird.
And I saw butterflies, several species. Nice to know some caterpillars survive through metamorphosis.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:15 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Tufted Titmouse (v)
2. Blue Jay (v)
3. Black-capped Chickadee
4. Song Sparrow
5. Gray Catbird
6. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
7. Red-eyed Vireo**
8. American Goldfinch**
9. Northern Flicker (v)
10. American Crow* (v)
11. Yellow Warbler (v)
12. Cliff Swallow
13. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
14. Cedar Waxwing
15. Eastern Phoebe
16. Yellow-rumped Warbler
17. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
18. Ovenbird
19. Philadelphia Vireo
20. Black-and-white Warbler
21. Common Yellowthroat
22. White-throated Sparrow
23. Northern Cardinal
24. Great Crested Flycatcher (v)
25. Broad-winged Hawk
Elsewhere
26. Mourning Dove
27. Herring Gull
28. Osprey
v = Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
