Another warm early morning hike with Jack-my-dog. Another nice assortment of birds and dragonflies and such. Most interesting, perhaps, were the flocks of Cliff Swallows circling in the blue above us—one of which comprised nine birds—but just the numbers (18 spp. total) were also impressive for these hot, dry days.
Speaking of numbers, I’ve been missing a few counts lately—both low and high—and this has me mildly amused. But also glad I’ve been doing this “memory exercise” (as I call it) for so many years. At the start, for each hike, I simply kept a list of species in my head, then later recalled them for inclusion in this daily accounting. After a while, I began counting the number of individuals of each species, and listing them here in the evening of each day.
I’m sure there’ve been a few misses over time. And it’s true that my (too many) photos help jog my memory in may cases. Still, it’s a habit that somehow seems—oddly—to have increased my overall talent with, well, numbers.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:03 a.m. (8:03 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 3. Song Sparrow* (v) 4. Black-chinned Hummingbird 5. Lesser Goldfinch* 6. Spotted Towhee 7. House Finch** 8. Black-billed Magpie* 9. Rock Pigeon 10. Mourning Dove 11. Black-headed Grosbeak 12. Cliff Swallow 13. Black-capped Chickadee** 14. Warbling Vireo 15. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 16. Pine Siskin 17. Turkey Vulture 18. American Robin*
Elsewhere
19. California Quail 20. Northern Flicker 21. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Yet another morning like the past few—cool in the shade, warm in the sun, pleasant, lovely, dry. Nothing out of the ordinary, bird-wise, but a very good hike with a very good dog.
During which I got to thinking about my routine. A long-time routine, a daily routine. Hike a couple miles with my best bud, look/listen for birds, take their photographs (if/when possible), keep track of ’em in my head. It’s a comforting routine, especially the part about being out in what I consider the Real World (i.e., Nature’s realm). The photos sure take a while, though.
Maybe two hours a day—or, rather, evening—I spend going through the hundreds of digital images I’ve captured, marking the decent ones, narrowing down a dozen or two to choose those I’ll share on social media. Keeps me up late sometimes (e.g., now). Don’t I have better things to do with my time?
Maybe. Maybe I do. But I’m not gonna worry about it just yet. Keeps me engaged in not-too-distant past.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:05 a.m. (8:05 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
These past couple days, as the temperatures in the Pacific Northwest broke all-time heat records (121°F in British Columbia??), Jack and I have had some nice coolish morning hikes up the foothills trails. Upper 60s to start, maybe mid-70s at the end. Today the trend continued.
Yep, it was a lovely morning for a walk in the high desert. We’ve even had scattered thundershowers lately.
[Sucks about anthropogenic climate change, though.]
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:05 a.m. (8:05 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting 2. Black-billed Magpie* 3. House Finch** 4. Song Sparrow* 5. Mourning Dove 6. Black-chinned Hummingbird 7. Spotted Towhee 8. Rock Pigeon 9. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 10. Black-headed Grosbeak 11. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12. American Robin** (v) 13. Warbling Vireo (v) 14. Black-throated Gray Warbler 15. Turkey Vulture
Elsewhere
16. Eurasian Collared-dove 17. Lesser Goldfinch (v) 18. California Quail 19. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
