Good hike with Captain Jack this morning. just the two of us for most of it—the two of us, plus a fair assortment of local birds. A Juniper Titmouse near the trailhead, the Red-tailed Hawk on its cell-tower perch below the bluff, a gang of chickadees accompanying us up Coyote Canyon.
Was especially nice to see my Downy Woodpecker friend after a couple days away.
Later, at home, I happened to be in the front yard with Jack when I heard the distinctive chatter of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and spotted it flitting into the foliage along the fence. It even popped out for a candid photo.
My experience of 2021 has been OK so far.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 9:01 a.m. (MST), I hiked several hundred feet up a mountain.
1. House Finch (v) 2. Juniper Titmouse (v) 3. Black-billed Magpie (v) 4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay** 5. Rock Pigeon* 6. Red-tailed Hawk 7. Downy Woodpecker 8. Black-capped Chickadee 9. Spotted Towhee* 10. California Quail (v) 11. Pine Siskin 12. Dark-eyed Junco
Elsewhere
13. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 14. European Starling
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Calm today, and chilly. Birds were active again—and the towhees were out again.
Not many photo ops (in fact, most birds on my list were heard, not seen), but a nice variety. Most interesting, arguably, were the geese I heard while down in Coyote Canyon, where I had only a glimpse of a sliver of sky. (All I can say for sure is there were more than one.)
The sky was nice, though, as was the company of the best dog of all time.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:16 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** 2. Northern Flicker** (v) 3. Spotted Towhee 4. American Robin** (v) 5. American Goldfinch (v) 6. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay 7. Black-billed Magpie** 8. Pine Siskin (v) 9. House Finch* 10. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v) 12. Canada Goose (v) 13. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 14. Song Sparrow** (v)
Elsewhere
15. Rock Pigeon 16. Mourning Dove
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
This warmish, overcast Sunday was awash with sweet, sweet mud. Been a good while since I had to scrape mud off my boots. How nice it is.
Also nice to sped the morning with the local birds, the usual suspects, my new old friends. Magpie, scrub-jay, towhee, junco. Flicker, chickadee, finch, robin. Even the sharpie and American Goldfinch were familiar players in this daily show of mine.
Later, at home, a pair of song sparrows showed up in the ivy, like dessert after a delicious meal.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:21 a.m. (MST), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie 2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay* 3. Spotted Towhee 4. House Finch** 5. American Robin 6. Dark-eyed Junco 7. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v) 8. Northern Flicker** 9. Black-capped Chickadee 10. Downy Woodpecker 11. Sharp-shinned Hawk 12. American Goldfinch (v)
Elsewhere
13. Song Sparrow
Mammals
Red Squirrel (v)
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
