High 20s (F) when dog and I hit the trail this morning. The sky was cloudless, though, so I knew that warmth would come soon—as soon as we climbed out of the mountain shade.
Plenty of birds about, including a Red-breasted Nuthatch (heard), lots of robins, and flickers behaving territorially. In fact, I got a great look at a display I’d never seen before: three male flickers together in one tree, one perched higher, and the other two going through an occasional head-bobbing, tail-flaring wicka-wicka-wicka dance, repeated multiple times (with a pause in between).
Finally the two youngsters (I’m assuming here) fluttered away, leaving the original male to his perch—and, presumably, territory.
Spring’s so full of sweet mysteries.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9 a.m., I hiked a couple hundred feet up the mountain.
A dusting of snow on the ground this morning. Chilly temps, mostly cloudy skies. Planned a modest hike compared to yesterday’s. Right away, dog and I encountered a novelty—two or three Mountain Cottontails hopping away from us into a pile of big rocks.
I got photos of one of the rabbits as it sniffed the nippy air, then we commenced to moving up the hill a ways. Got close to a mule deer and tallied a dozen species—one of which was a soaring golden eagle.
Only later did it occur to me that relatives of the big bird likely dined on relatives of the furry long eared bun.
Ah, the bittersweet Rules of Nature.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9 a.m., I hiked a couple hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee 2. House Finch* 3. American Robin* 4. Northern Flicker** 5. Eastern Towhee 6. Black-billed Magpie* 7. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 8. Pine Siskin (v) 9. Golden Eagle 10. Red-tailed Hawk (v) 11. Dark-eyed Junco 12. Song Sparrow*
Elsewhere
13. Rock Pigeon 14. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail Mule Deer Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
For his 12th birthday today, Captain Jack, my dog, and I veered off the familiar foothills trail and up a grassy slope. And up and up to a rocky climb. And up some more. Kept going to an altitude of 6,736 feet—our highest climb so far.
Saw a high-elevation flicker on a rock. Heard my second Canyon Wren. met some fellow hikers coming down from a longer hike than ours.
Both of us are kind of achy and sore this night. (Jack’s just now napping on his birthday toy in the middle of the floor.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9 a.m., I hiked about seventeen hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee 2. Black-billed Magpie* 3. American Robin* 4. House Finch 5. Northern Flicker** 6. Eastern Towhee 7. Lesser Goldfinch 8. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay** 9. Dark-eyed Junco 10. Golden Eagle 11. American Kestrel 12. Canyon Wren (v)
Elsewhere
13. Song Sparrow 14. California Quail 15. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
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
