Enjoyed yet another hike with dog this morning—albeit the most muggy one I can recall. Last evening’s rain had soaked in and/or dried up overnight, but the atmosphere held traces of the rare, welcome wetness. Didn’t at all mind the sweat it drew from my pores.
Not a lot of bird action—mostly because fewer birds are vocalizing. Yep, it’s that time of year: having left the nest, youngsters must be fed and kept track of; hawks (and dogs and humans) are about; the territorial imperative is less important than simply finding food and surviving. No need to make a lot of noise.
I heard only three singing towhees, and maybe four singing buntings. (Compare that to spring!) Counted only six of each species. Before long, both will have abandoned their songs entirely, resorting only to subtle chips and chatters.
Still, the singers will be back next April and May.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:55 a.m. (7:55 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
A week or so ago, I thought the Cooper’s Hawks might’ve flown the nest—or perhaps, thanks to the record drought, the nest might’ve failed. But yesterday I heard two youngsters and an adult in the nest area. And again today: the voices of two juvies and an adult.
Then one of them—adult male, I’m pretty sure—left the trees in a riot of calls and perched in a maple not far away. And stared.
I’m a long-time vegetarian (vegan, in fact), but I’m delighted to know the local accipiters are fit to survive. We’re fellow animals, after all—the hawks, my dog, and me. All part of Nature’s miraculous web of life.
And we’d all of us appreciate a little rain.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:56 a.m. (7:56 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
One nice thing about hiking the same patch every day is getting to know the wildlife well—the individual birds, bird families, where they hang out, their calls, their habits. As rewarding, arguably, are the surprises.
Today’s surprises were: 1) a Eurasian Collared-dove perched on a wire usually occupied by a Mouning dove; 2) a cottontail far afield from where we usually encounter them, dog and I; 3) a random tanager showing up weeks after my last sighting.
Surprises are fun. And not uncommonly experience by the daily birder. (I’m tellin’ ya, birding improves your life.)
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:36 a.m. (7:36 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (v) 3. Lesser Goldfinch** 4. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 5. House Finch* 6. Eurasian Collared-dove 7. Black-chinned Hummingbird 8. Hawk (sp.) 9. Mourning Dove 10. Black-headed Grosbeak 11. Rock Pigeon 12. Spotted Towhee 13. Black-billed Magpie** 14. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 15. Western Tanager 16. American Robin
Elsewhere
17. House Sparrow 18. California Quail
Mammals
Red Squirrel Rock Squirrel Mountain Cottontail
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
