Snow dwindling, temperature rising. Sun early, overcast at midday, sun later. I have a sense of spring being near.
Birds active on the mountainside and in the neighborhood. In the neighborhood, starlings paid a visit. I know they’re “invasives” and can make a racket. (They can also mimic any number of miraculous sounds.) But I like ’em anyway—their flocking habits, their powerful bill, their speckled, sheeny outfit.
Thanks for paying a visit, starlings.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. House Finch* (v)
2. Black-billed Magpie*
3. American Robin* (v)
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay*
5. Dark-eyed Junco*
6. Pine Siskin
7. Black-capped Chickadee**
8. Song Sparrow* (v)
9. Spotted Towhee (v)
10. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
Elsewhere
11. European Starling
12. Eurasian Collared Dove
Mammals
Mule Deer
Rocky Mountain Elk
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, Eurasian collared dove, European starling, house finch, lesser goldfinch, pine siskin, song sparrow, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
