A nearly cloudless, chilly morn—but not as chilly as yesterday. Soon enough, in fact, the rising sun warmed us up considerably, dog and me. And there were birds.
Heard, then saw, a male American Goldfinch. Not a migrant necessarily, but my first since last year. Two vultures moving through. A calling Red-breasted Nuthatch. A calling quail. Two scrub-jays “kissing.” A couple vultures circling, A solitary solitaire.
On our return, not far above the trailhead, I heard the sudden, loud song of a warbler in a leafing-out maple nearby. I left the trail and slid down the slope a bit and finally got a glimpse of it: a first-of-year Orange-crowned Warbler. (I’m determined now to become wholly familiar with their song.)
Tomorrow it’s supposed to get to 80° (F). I expect more new birds moving through.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:12 a.m. (8:12 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Song Sparrow** (v) 2. American Robin* 3. Spotted Towhee 4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 5. American Goldfinch 6. Rock Pigeon* 7. Red-breasted Nuthatch 8. Townsend’s Solitaire 9. Northern Flicker** (v) 10. California Quail 11. Lesser Goldfinch* (v) 12. House Finch** 13. Cooper’s Hawk 14. Turkey Vulture 15. Dark-eyed Junco 16. Orange-crowned Warbler†
Elsewhere
17. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Rock Squirrel Mule Deer Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year bird
This morning’s hike with dog under dramatic, semi-overcast skies was very quiet. Few birds beyond the trailhead other than towhees and juncos and scrub-jays, and no daily Downy Woodpecker for the second straight day. But again we took a stroll down the lower trail, where birds were busy and abundant, thanks to residential feeding stations, I’m pretty sure.
Noteworthy to me were several Cassin’s Finches. I’m still getting to know these birds, learning to ID them, to tell them apart from House Finches and such. But today a few cooperative individuals perched for me. Also had a Mourning Dove down there.
But the most amazing moment came later, when I stepped out onto my back deck to watch what looked like a couple sparrows chasing each other. As I stood there, unmoving, a Spotted Towhee flitted up onto the railing not three feet away and perched for a second or two, its eyes seeming to look me up and down. I had my camera but didn’t budge. I knew it would fly. And just having that little bird (they look smaller close up, for some reason) so near thrilled me immeasurably.
(Sorry I didn’t get a photo.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:47 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** 2. Black-billed Magpie* (v) 3. House Finch* 4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (v) 5. Rock Pigeon* 6. American Goldfinch (v) 7. Spotted Towhee* 8. Dark-eyed Junco* 9. Pine Siskin (v) 10. Cassin’s Finch 11. Mourning Dove 12. Song Sparrow* (v)
Elsewhere
13. Eurasian Collared-dove
Mammals
Red squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
We got to the trailhead about ten minutes later this morning than usual. By design, kind of. I wondered if a later start might lead to more action than a hike mostly in the mountain shade.
Right away, the action was pretty great—within about five minutes, I had several species, including a nuthatch, two titmice, a Mountain Chickadee, and a female Downy Woodpecker (later found the male in his usual patch). But then things settled down for much of the rest of the hike.
Until the last hundred yards or so, which brought a flurry of activity: juncos, a Cooper’s Hawk, a singing Townsend’s Solitaire, and two finch species.
Honestly, I doubt the later start had anything to do with it. Still a fun day, though.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:40 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
