A winter-nippy, overcast morning, with snow on the trail and—after a few minutes—in the air. Fewer bird species than in recent days, but many more deer.
Mule Deer.
In fact, the most fun I had was—after failing to get a good look at a smallish accipiter flying low between the junipers—watching about a half-dozen deer, maybe forty or fifty yards from us, gaze down at us and communicate their concern among themselves before wandering in a gentle snowfall, as nonchalantly as they could, up the hillside and away.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:40 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
I’d been angling for a photo of silent chickadees, as dog and I ascended the snowy trail up wooded Coyote Canyon, when the little birds zipped up ahead and began to call and scold. That’swhen I noticed a larger bird shoot down through the tangles to my left to a perchd. I aimed my camera at it and saw it was a small owl—but I couldn’t focus because of all the leaves and twigs between us. Again and again I tried, to no avail.
Wish I’d thought to grab my binoculars instead, ’cause then I might’ve managed an ID.
Since this was near the place I saw a Northern Pygmy Owl back in November, I assumed that’s what it was. But in looking at the blurry photos later, I couldn’t be sure. Its face seems to resemble a Northern Saw-whet Owl, but at the time (and in the photos), it looks like this bird has a long tail (the mark of a pygmy owl).
Still kind of leaning toward the latter—but I guess I’ll never know.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:57 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
Aside from a friendly trail runner whom we see frequently (albeit briefly), Jack and I were alone with the wildlife this morning. And what wildlife there was.
Townsend’s Solitaire.
Two solitaires, two cottontails, plenty of corvids acting up, two squirrel species, deer. But the funnest part of the hike (which I missed on video, since I’d forgotten to change my GoPro battery after getting distracted by the second solitaire) were the Chukars.
I heard them first, as is nearly always the case. Sounded like one or two, up toward the ridge. Scanned the outcrops, which I’ve learned they like to call from, but they were awful far away. Crazily, excitingly, once we reached the deer trail, I spotted one. Perhaps the sole calling bird. Then about a half dozen of them swept by as I was watching the first bird.
Saw another, possibly a third. Then a flock of more than 20 rose and flew quickly overhead, southbound, and as they did I could hear the buzzy sweep of their wings.
After the flock disappeared, I heard a Chukar still calling up by the ridge.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:41 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
