A quick hike, an earlier hike—most of it in the mountain shade. Quite a few species, but lower numbers. I only managed a photo of one, a junco in a juniper tree.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 8:29 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Another frosty morning hike up the switchback in the mountain shade. Pretty darn quiet up on the deer trails—until we reached a little mount overlooking the neighborhood, dog and I, where and saw the first two of a number of scrub-jays.
Also heard a solitaire from up there, and a singing song sparrow, and got a glimpse of a flicker and a couple juncos.
If you wander about a bit, you can nearly always find a bird or two. Today was kind of a jay day.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 8:50 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch** 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 3. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 4. Rock Pigeon* 5. American Goldfinch (v) 6. Dark-eyed Junco 7. Black-billed Magpie* 8. Townsend’s Solitaire (v) 9. Northern Flicker 10. California Quail (v) 11. Song Sparrow (v)
Elsewhere
12. American Kestrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Another chilly, mostly clear morning, with hard frost in the mountain shade. Quiet for the most part—not many individual birds—but a quarter of my list (of twelve) were raptors.
First, a solitary Cooper’s Hawk glide silently overhead as we climbed the switchback, Captain Jack and I. Next, while scanning the ridge with binocs I happened to spy a solitary Golden Eagle flying high above the rocks. Finally—last bird of the morning—the neighborhood red-tail, perched on one of its favorite utility poles below.
Don’t mind a three-raptor day at all—plus, it’s been a while since I’d seen an eagle. (Thanks to extreme drought and western fires, this year’s been a much quieter year than last.)
Grandeur Peak Area List At 9:01 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch (v) 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. American Goldfinch (v) 5. Rock Pigeon* 6. Cooper’s Hawk 7. Black-billed Magpie** (v) 8. Yellow-rumped Warbler 9. Golden Eagle 10. Dark-eyed Junco 11. Townsend’s Solitaire (v) 12. Red-tailed Hawk
Elsewhere
13. Song Sparrow 14. European Starling 15. House Sparrow (v) 16. Northern Flicker
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
