A nice but quiet hike this morning. Warmish—ahead of cold weather descending this coming weekend for a spell—with mostly the usual bird suspect. Had a Mountain Chickadee and a Merlin (in flight, heades south with a purpose), but no great photos.

Until the end of my hike with dog, when I stumbled upon a pair of Cassin’s Finches.

I’d only seen the species a couple of times—both times females/immature males—but with this pair the ID was clear. Face markings, rosy red peaked head on th emale, notched tails, etc. They perched and posed for quite a while.

A nice moment on a pretty nice day (weather-wise—although election-wise it’s been rather unsettling).

Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:05 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.

1. House Finch**
2. Mountain Chickadee (v)
3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
4. Dark-eyed Junco
5. Spotted Towhee**
5. American Goldfinch
6. Northern Flicker**
7. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
9. Black-billed Magpie*
10. Black-capped Chickadee
11. Merlin
12. Cassin’s Finch
13. Song Sparrow (v)

Elsewhere

14. Rock Pigeon

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

Mammals

Red Squirrel (v)