Slept late. (Must’ve needed that extra hour.) When Captain Jack and I got to the trailhead, the sun had already topped the ridge, and the air was dry and warm—with a touch of haze across the basin.
But all seems so quiet and seductive at this time of year—a slight note here, a soft chip there. In fact, I heard at least two bird sounds this morning that I couldn’t identify at all.
The mystery is the thing. (Also learning through observing.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:52 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
As usual, I didn’t intend to hike the Pipeline Trail Ridge this morning—it just worked out that way. Very quiet early on, but the cool shade of Coyote Canyon felt good, so Jack and I moseyed on up the valley.
Desert Side-blotched Lizard.
Even in deep summer, an early hike doesn’t feel real hot around here. Stretches of sun, stretches of tree (or mountain) shade, hints of birds flitting around in the greenery. Spied a solitary vireo (a Warbling Vireo, not to be confused with the old name for a Blue-headed Vireo), a young Cooper’s, a nuthatch—even a random Black-throated Gray Warbler zipping up and over the ridge.
This hike reaches about 6,500 feet, covers about three-and-a-half miles, and takes about two-and-a-half hours. Still, Jack and I were little the worse for wear at the end of it.
Gonna sleep well tonight, though.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
I see more doves and pigeons here than I ever did in Maine. For one thing, there’s an extra species (Eurasian Collared Dove); for another, the pigeons here come in flocks of a hundred or more—at this time of year, at least, when they swoop and veer in huge numbers up and around the foothill canyons.
Alhough I rarely get an up-close look at them, today dog and I encountered a solitary bird perched on a rocky overlook. We stopped. It stayed, I approached nearer. It stayed. I got near enough for close-up photos, and the pigeon didn’t move. Then I noticed the blue band around it’s leg.
Not the first banded pigeon I’ve seen here, turns out. I got nothing against pigeons, though. In fact, I rather like ’em.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
