A bit warmer this morning. Dog and I got to the trailhead about 15 minutes later than yesterday. A little cloudiness. A nice morning.
Started quiet—but soon enough I was enjoying a few nice surprises—e.g., a vocal Juniper Titmouse, the cry of a raven (first in many months), and a Townsend’s Solitaire popping up right in front of us on the trail.
I’ll take this kind of birding excursion any ol’ day.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:42 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
What an unexpectedly action-packed hike this morning—bird action, that is. All started quietly (breezy, cool, mountain-shady), but as soon as we topped the switchback, dog and I, we found ourselves surrounded. By birds, that is.
A flock of a dozen towhees. Finches and robins and juncos and a flicker and a singing White-crowned Sparrow (immature), all within view at once. A Red-tailed Hawk on the utility pole I check every morning in case there’s a red-tail perching there. (Been at least a couple months.) Another Steller’s Jay up in the junipers.
Speaking of junipers, though, the little bird that stands out most is the chattery, nondescript Juniper Titmouse we happened upon. It’s only been a couple weeks or so since I saw my first of this species, but after a sighting or two nearly every day since, I now know what to look and listen for.
And today, one flitted up right in front of me and posed.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:34 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Big morning. A tad warmer (60s (F)), bit of a breeze, and birds all over the place. Just when I thought migration might be winding down.
Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay.
Not sure how many birds were headed south and how many were just moving around, but I encountered a few I hadn’t seen for a while—the most exciting being a pair of Steller’s Jays (that seemed to be driving the resident Woodhouse’s Scrub-jays a little nuts). I’d only ever had glimpses of these birds, but today they stopped to pose.
Saw at least ten scrub-jays, too—active today. Migrating species included a mess of robins, juncos, and towhees. A Townsend’s Solitaire showed up. And I got my second glimpses of Juniper Titmouse and Cassin’s Finch.
But the jays were the stars of the show this day.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:22 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch* 2. American Robin 3. Black-billed Magpie** 4. Mourning Dove 5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 6. Dark-eyed Junco 7. Spotted Towhee 8. Cassin’s Finch 9. Black-capped Chickadee 10. Northern Flicker** 11. Mountain Chickadee 12. Steller’s Jay 13. Yellow-rumped Warbler (v) 14. Townsend’s Solitaire 15. Pine Siskin 16. Juniper Titmouse 17. Red-breasted Nuthatch
Elsewhere
18. Rock Pigeon
Mammals
Red Squirrel (v) Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
