Was a quiet hike with dog this morning. Had only eight species on my trail list, and I saw only half of those. (Just one—a scrub-jay—posed for photos.) But this was an errand day, and between the in-town birds and yard birds, I ended up with a nice variety.
Gull, geese, and starlings in town. And in the yard, a Golden-crowned Kinglet for the second straight day (heard this time) along with glimpses of the resident Song Sparrow. A good day today.
Anybody’s guess what tomorrow will bring.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9:02 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee 2. Black-billed Magpie* 3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 4. Rock Pigeon* 5. Spotted Towhee 6. Northern Flicker (v) 7. Pine Siskin (v) 8. California Quail* (v)
Elsewhere
9. House Finch 10. European Starling 11. California Gull 12. Canada Goose 13. Golden-crowned Kinglet (v) 14. Song Sparrow
Calm today, and chilly. Birds were active again—and the towhees were out again.
Not many photo ops (in fact, most birds on my list were heard, not seen), but a nice variety. Most interesting, arguably, were the geese I heard while down in Coyote Canyon, where I had only a glimpse of a sliver of sky. (All I can say for sure is there were more than one.)
The sky was nice, though, as was the company of the best dog of all time.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:16 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** 2. Northern Flicker** (v) 3. Spotted Towhee 4. American Robin** (v) 5. American Goldfinch (v) 6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 7. Black-billed Magpie** 8. Pine Siskin (v) 9. House Finch* 10. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v) 12. Canada Goose (v) 13. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 14. Song Sparrow** (v)
Elsewhere
15. Rock Pigeon 16. Mourning Dove
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Still warmish this morning, although it started off a little slow. But in a flurry of bird activity, I heard a flicker, spied a robin, and heard the unmistakable call of a skein of Canada Geese overhead—twenty-seven in all.
What followed were the appearances of a dozen additional species—including a handsome male Downy Woodpecker.
Regardless of the happenings in the so-called civilized world, it’s hard to be disappointed or depressed or unhappy on a cool, cloudless November day like this one.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:13 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Northern Flicker (v) 2. American Robin 3. Mourning Dove 4. Canada Goose 5. Spotted Towhee 6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 7. Black-billed Magpie* 8. Dark-eyed Junco** 9. House Finch** 10. American Goldfinch 11. Black-capped Chickadee 12. Lesser Goldfinch 13. Northern Harrier 14. Downy Woodpecker 15. Pine Siskin (v) 16. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v)
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
