Dog and I hit the trailhead early this crisp, clear Valentine’s Day morning. Right away I saw a pair of corvids (magpie, scrub-jay) in a juniper tree. Soon after, I saw a pair of eagles soaring above the ridge. And then I spied a mule deer striking a sassy pose.
But the most Valentine’s image I’ll recall from this day was a pair of Common Ravens, chasing each other in the blue-blue sky—flying together, flying in tandem, staying close to each other.
I love this Valentine’s Day.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie* 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay** 3. House Finch* 4. Black-capped Chickadee 5. Northern Harrier 6. Golden Eagle 7. Dark-eyed Junco 8. Lesser Goldfinch (v) 9. American Robin (v) 10. Common Raven 11. Song Sparrow* 12. European Starling
Mammals
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Sun today. Blue sky behind a few clouds. Temperatures rising through the 30s (F). A late morning hike with dog.
Birds in the periphery, singing, calling. I commented to Captain Jack that this would be a good day to see another eagle, and within five minutes I did. Later, I wondered if I’d see a raven this day. And I did. (Two, actually.)
A few deer, a few fellow hikers on this sunny Saturday.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 11:15 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie** 2. Black-capped Chickadee** 3. House Finch* (v) 4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay** 5. Song Sparrow** (v) 6. Northern Flicker 7. Golden Eagle 8. Dark-eyed Junco 9. Lesser Goldfinch** (v) 10. Pine Siskin (v) 11. Common Raven
Elsewhere
12. Eurasian Collared Dove
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Snow last evening, snow overnight, snow this morning. About a foot of it, looked like when it finally stopped in late morning. Soon the sun came out and Jack and I slogged our way up the snowy trail.
I didn’t know what to expect, bird-wise—in fact, I was not too optimistic. Was I ever wrong. Ended up with eleven species on my trail list—including three raptors, a Canyon Wren, Canada Geese of all things, and a young eagle. Maybe being midday, maybe the first clearing after a four-day snow.
Ain’t complainin’. It was a very good day.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 12 p.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
Bird Report is an intermittent record of what's outside my window in Rockport, Maine, USA (44°08'N latitude, 69°06'W longitude), and vicinity. —Brian Willson
