As our tilted planet moves about the sun, and the photoperiod grows rapidly shorter, and the position of the rising sun moves southward behind taller ridges, my morning hike with dog has grown shadier. This morning, nearly all of it—maybe four-fifths?—happened in the mountain’s shadow.

And there came a breeze. And there came birds.

Quite a few species, actually (though not as many as yesterday). And high numbers of those we encountered. Especially interesting to me are the high numbers of Spotted Towhees. It’s a migratory species, but its members hang out here in the scrub-oak foothills year-round. All I can figure is farther northern birds are moving in while some that nest here are moving out. Whatever the case, eBird keeps warning me that my count seems too high.

This morning the count was 13. (And most all of them in the shade.)

Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:21 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.

1. Black-billed Magpie* (v)
2. House Finch**
3. American Robin**
4. Yellow-rumped Warbler
5. Dark-eyed Junco
6. Spotted Towhee
7. Mountain Chickadee
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
10. Northern Flicker
11. Juniper Titmouse
12. Lesser Goldfinch
13. Downy Woodpecker (v)

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere