Dog and I got the trailhead early this morning, while things were still in the mountain shade. Surprisingly cool considering the recent unseasonable heat wave. Fewer birds—but interesting behavior.
Including, on our return trip, a dramatic tryst between pair of Lazuli Buntings. The female seems to start things off, by leaning forward, tail high, and fluttering her wings. The male obliges (the “cloacal kiss” takes about one second), and this little quickie is followed by one or two more. I suppose in a couple weeks o so we’ll see a bunch of nestlings—then summertime fledglings demanding to be fed.
Several other resident species have gone quiet, meantime, suggesting they, too, have eggs or hatchlings. This miraculous annual reproductive cycle happens pretty quickly by our sense of time—but continues dependably year after year after century after millennium.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:48 a.m. (7:48 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
No rattlesnakes today, but still unseasonably warm (and dry). However, it’s still cool in the shade, and my morning hike with dog takes us along plenty of shady trails.
Nope, no reptiles—but plenty of good nesting birds. Many more finches than usual, more singing towhees and buntings, the same two Warbling Vireos, a tanager, and the Black-throated Warbler I saw yesterday (in the same tree).
Yep, warmer than it should be, but still early enough to enjoy nestlings, fledglings, many young birds learning the ropes, and the occasional suprise.
Our kind of Saturday, dog and me.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:07 a.m. (8:07 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. American Robin* 2. Lazuli Bunting 3. Rock Pigeon 4. Black-chinned Hummingbird 5. House Finch** 6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 7. Spotted Towhee 8. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9. Black-billed Magpie* 10. Western Tanager 11. Pine Siskin 12. Warbling Vireo (v) 13. Black-headed Grosbeak (v) 14. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 15. Black-throated Gray Warbler 16. Lesser Goldfinch** 17. Song Sparrow** (v)
Elsewhere
18. Eurasian Collared-dove 19. European Starling 20. California Quail
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
My theory is unseasonably hot temperatures brought them out of their dens early. And the temperature did peak at 99° (F) this afternoon. But for whatever reason, after more than 600 near-daily hikes up in the Wasatch foothill, this morning dog and I encountered our first Utah rattlesnakes.
Yep, plural.
The first encounter came along a deer trail we take fairly often, as I was investigating what sounded like the song of a tanager. [Aside: I believe it was a tanager, but I’m unsure enough that I don’t officially list it here.] Said aloud to Jack: “Gotta watch for snakes!” And maybe a half-minute later, a couple steps after I’d photographed a dragonfly, the loud, clear rattle came bursting from a patch of trailside foliage about six feet in front of us.
Because of the possibility of rattlers, when the weather gets this warm, I lead the way, with Jack following. At the sound of the rattling, I froze. But Jack (who doesn’t hear so well anymore) caught up and was about to pass me, when I reached and managed to catch his collar and lead him away from the four-foot, ready-to-strike snake, which was mostly hidden from view. It stayed long enough for me to did get a pic of its scales, then slithered off into the undergrowth.
Perhaps 45 minutes or an hour later, as we were returning down a narrow trail we take daily, another rattle erupted from a crevice in a tumble of stones. Never saw that snake, but it convinced us to backtrack and find another route.
Oh, yeah: Pretty good birds today, too.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:02 a.m. (8:02 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting 2. Black-headed Grosbeak 3. Black-chinned Hummingbird 4. House Finch** 5. California Quail* (v) 6. Spotted Towhee 7. Song Sparrow* 8. Pine Siskin (v) 9. Rock Pigeon* 10. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 11. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 12. Mourning Dove* 13. Black-capped Chickadee 14. Chipping Sparrow (v) 15. Warbling Vireo (v) 16. Black-billed Magpie* 17. Black-throated Gray Warbler 18. American Robin*
Elsewhere
19. Eurasian Collared-dove 20. European Starling
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
Reptiles
Great Basin Rattlesnake
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
