This morning with Jack on the semi-cool trails, under semi-smoky skies, I found myself—after a nice hike among hummingbirds, doves, corvids, towhees, et al—wishing to encounter a surprise. Then, although of course I was thinking of an unusual bird, I thought of how surprises can bring good news or bad news. Like a bird, say, or an angry mountain lion.
But within a minute of having this wish, a Brewer’s Sparrow popped up into a little snag within a few feet of the trail—and posed.
Good news.
[New estimate on the size of the Parleys Canyon Fire: 529 acres. At this writing, it’s 21 percent contained.]
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 7:08 a.m. (8:08 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-chinned Hummingbird
2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
3. Rock Pigeon*
4. Spotted Towhee
5. Black-headed Grosbeak (v)
6. Mourning Dove
7. Eurasian Collared-dove*
8. Black-billed Magpie**
9. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
10. Rufous Hummingbird
11. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
12. Warbling Vireo (v)
13. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (v)
14. Brewer’s Sparrow
15. American Robin
16. House Finch (v)
Elsewhere
17. California Quail
18. Lesser Goldfinch
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
