For the second straight morning, dog and I did the Millcreek circuit. By that I mean, we climbed the near valley to the top of the ridge, then along the ridge to the terminus of the Pipeline Trail—then down the switchback to where we began. Not quite four miles total, 1,200-plus feet in elevation, about a two-and-a-half hour hike.
Lazuli Bunting (male).
Today, though, it was humid, and there was a drizzle or two, and then the sun came out.
More birds on my list than any day I can remember here. No lifers or first-of-years—just a nice selection of feathered critters. I hope we have as much luck tomorrow.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked 1,000-plus feet up a mountain.
Chased down a kinglet this morning—a mostly overcast morning with a few waves of rain moving through. I heard it first, not long after we’d started up the trail. Singing. I tiptoed around, took a shitload of photos hoping one might come out half-way decent. What do you know—one did!
(Kinglets have stumped me for years. They flit around so quickly, stick to brush and tangles, and I’m a by-hand photographer.)
A really good hike with Jack my dog. I shall remember it fondly.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
This being my first April in Utah, I’ve been waiting for spring migration to announce itself. So far only a few seemingly random appearances (well, other than the early towhees)—a couple of singing Canyon Wrens, one Mountain Bluebird sighting, chippies in just the past few days. Still no gnatcatchers or buntings. Or warblers.
Until today.
Actually, I spied a single unidentifiable warbler yesterday, and it might well have been an orange-crowned, the species I saw this morning. Three in all. (My only other sightings of this bird have been in fall on Monhegan Island, Maine.) Also a whole bunch of inbound Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
To say I’m psyched to see what tomorrow will bring might be something of an understatement.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:15 a.m., I hiked several 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
