On my hike with dog this snowy winter morning, I encountered a few moments among wildlife families. Like the several groups of mule deer sticking together and moving uphill when hikers with dogs approached. And the pair of Woodhouse’s Scrub-jays feeding each other.
That latter was a first for me—one jay flapping up to a perch below the first one, which then inserted a small morsel of food down its throat.
We humans sometimes forget we’re basically lapsed wildlife. We’d do well not to pretend we’re more important in the grand scheme of things.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 11:15 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie*
2. Black-capped Chickadee**
3. House Finch
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
5. Northern Flicker*
6. Dark-eyed Junco
7. Lesser Goldfinch**
Elsewhere
8. Eurasian Collared Dove
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, Eurasian collared dove, house finch, lesser goldfinch, northern flicker, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
