A warm clear Saturday means busy mountain hiking trails. Sure enough, dog and I met several friends (human and dog) on our hike this morning. But despite more chatting than usual, I still managed to spot a few birds—among them, a solitary, circling buteo.
An adult Red-tailed Hawk it was. Giving a few of us birders a nice look. Also distant elk up on Parley’s Ridge, here and there a mule deer, a few distressed scrub-jays, chickadees, magpies, juncos.
Spent a couple hours up there (a half-hour more than usual). You could hardly ask for a busier, more interesting hike.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 10:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee
2. House Finch** (v)
3. Black-billed Magpie**
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
5. Red-tailed Hawk
6. Dark-eyed Junco
7. Song Sparrow* (v)
8. Hairy Woodpecker
9. Lesser Goldfinch* (v)
Elsewhere
10. Rock Pigeon
11. European Starling
12. American Robin (v)
13. House Sparrow (v)
14. Eurasian Collared Dove (v)
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
