Robins everywhere this morning. Also a couple warbler species, a random junco, a Mountain Chickadee, and I glimpsed a furtive Green-tailed Towhee. Just one gnatcatcher, though—and not a single hummingbird. All signs of fall migration.
Birding friends from back in Maine have gathered at Monhegan Island. I’m envious. A favorite place, the best birding ever. But the challenges offered by a high desert landscape make things interesting also. Honestly, I have no idea what I’ll see or hear each day for the next couple weeks.
Tomorrow’s hike will be particularly interesting, since the first part of it will occur in summer, and the latter part will occur in autumn.
Will let you know.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:23 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
I thought yesterday was pretty chilly for August. This morning was chillier—in the 40s (F) in the mountain shade when dog and I headed up the trailhead. I felt both a chill and a thrill, thinking the nip in the air might provide some interesting bird sightings, as various species got to thinking the equivalent of, “O.K., here we go.”
Olive-sided Flycatcher.
Although our hike began slow, I ended up not being disappointed.
Within a minute of my saying to Jack, “Well, this has been kind of a bust,” a Warbling Vireo popped up in a scrub-oak ahead of us. (Watched it snag a caterpillar.) Then along came a couple dozen House Finches, numerous gnatcatchers, and a Brewer’s Sparrow or two. On the last leg of our return, I even got to watch an Olive-sided Flycatcher, well, catching flies.
Finally I said to Jack—summing up our hike as we approached the trailhead—“From ‘zip’ to ‘ZIPPO’!”
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8:10 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
As usual, I didn’t intend to hike the Pipeline Trail Ridge this morning—it just worked out that way. Very quiet early on, but the cool shade of Coyote Canyon felt good, so Jack and I moseyed on up the valley.
Desert Side-blotched Lizard.
Even in deep summer, an early hike doesn’t feel real hot around here. Stretches of sun, stretches of tree (or mountain) shade, hints of birds flitting around in the greenery. Spied a solitary vireo (a Warbling Vireo, not to be confused with the old name for a Blue-headed Vireo), a young Cooper’s, a nuthatch—even a random Black-throated Gray Warbler zipping up and over the ridge.
This hike reaches about 6,500 feet, covers about three-and-a-half miles, and takes about two-and-a-half hours. Still, Jack and I were little the worse for wear at the end of it.
Gonna sleep well tonight, though.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
