This morning on awakening, for the first time since the switch to Daylight Saving Time—when for the first time I refused to change my (manual) clocks—I tripped up on the math. I thought I’d awakened too early, at 6:45 instead of 7, when I’d actually overslept. That is, I read my bedside clock to be DST (7:45) instead of the actual non-DST time.
So we hit the trail about a half hour later than in recent days, Jack and I. It was warm, summery, and sunshiny. We warmed up in a hurry, and the sweat/panting persisted pretty much throughout.
But never mind all that, it was a good hike (if not particularly conducive to photos). We kept it short and sweet (an hour and 20 minutes or so), yet still I got a good list of birds.
More summery weather to come. But I expect to wake up a little earlier tomorrow.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:36 a.m. (8:36 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Another warm early morning hike with Jack-my-dog. Another nice assortment of birds and dragonflies and such. Most interesting, perhaps, were the flocks of Cliff Swallows circling in the blue above us—one of which comprised nine birds—but just the numbers (18 spp. total) were also impressive for these hot, dry days.
Speaking of numbers, I’ve been missing a few counts lately—both low and high—and this has me mildly amused. But also glad I’ve been doing this “memory exercise” (as I call it) for so many years. At the start, for each hike, I simply kept a list of species in my head, then later recalled them for inclusion in this daily accounting. After a while, I began counting the number of individuals of each species, and listing them here in the evening of each day.
I’m sure there’ve been a few misses over time. And it’s true that my (too many) photos help jog my memory in may cases. Still, it’s a habit that somehow seems—oddly—to have increased my overall talent with, well, numbers.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:03 a.m. (8:03 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 3. Song Sparrow* (v) 4. Black-chinned Hummingbird 5. Lesser Goldfinch* 6. Spotted Towhee 7. House Finch** 8. Black-billed Magpie* 9. Rock Pigeon 10. Mourning Dove 11. Black-headed Grosbeak 12. Cliff Swallow 13. Black-capped Chickadee** 14. Warbling Vireo 15. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 16. Pine Siskin 17. Turkey Vulture 18. American Robin*
Elsewhere
19. California Quail 20. Northern Flicker 21. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
We had a nice hike this morning, Captain Jack and I. Early, but not too early. Warm, but not too warm. (In fact, the air stirred nice and cool and sweet in the shady green places.) Still just the resident birds about, plus a flyover by four Cliff Swallows. Buntings and towhees, many finches. Gnatcatchers.
Magpies and robins and doves in the neighborhood. Temps didn’t reach 100° (F), though—only 98° or 99°.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 7:05 a.m. (8:05 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
