It’s that family time of year. Up the cool, breezy trail this mid-morning with dog, I came upon a number of families—notably the Buntings and the Vireos. Most other families were quiet, being busy with the youngsters (e.g., the Grosbeaks, the Doves, the Black-throated Green Warblers).
I spied Mama Bunting with a grasshopper, Mama Vireo with a dragonfly (a Variegated Meadowhawk, I believe).
We tiptoed around, dog and I, not wanting to interfere with the private family affairs.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting 2. American Robin* (v) 3. Rock Pigeon 4. House Finch* 5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 6. Black-headed Grosbeak (v) 7. Spotted Towhee 8. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9. Black-chinned Hummingbird* 10. Song Sparrow** (v) 11. Mourning Dove 12. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 13. Warbling Vireo 14. Western Tanager (v) 15. Chipping Sparrow (v) 16. Lesser Goldfinch**
Elsewhere
17. Eurasian Collared Dove 18. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
This morning was cool and breezy with sprinkles blowing around. We actually took a little stroll in the (very light) rain, dog and I. Also encountered quite a few birds, many of ’em clearly keeping track of youngsters.
The highlight was a solitary Townsend’s Solitaire, perching, fly-catching, and emitting a very subtle version of its every-two-second territorial call.
I stood a while watching and listening to my first summer solitaire.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Rain this early morning. Captain Jack and I awoke to a gray day and a chill: about 42 degrees (F). We waited until the air dried up a bit, then hiked up the switchback—and saw no other dog or human. Saw a few birds, though.
Notable were two hawk species on this morning’s list. Not far from the trailhead, soaring in the direction of town, was a handsome Red-tailed Hawk. Then up the drippy valley trail (Coyote Canyon, I hear it’s called), I heard the distinctive kip-kip! calls of a Cooper’s Hawk.
The Cooper’s silenced the voices of Warbling Vireo and Black-throated Green Warbler, but I didn’t mind.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:45 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a 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
