Rain this morning. Decided to wait and check out the midday bird situation, got to the trailhead in late morning.
Right away, I noticed the grosbeaks have nestlings—little tiny fluff balls with naked faces, bulging blue eye spots, and enormous mouths. Watched for quite a little while as the mama jammed food in those wide open mouths.
Nice hike otherwise, curious bird interactions, changeable weather. We returned, dog and I, about the time a line of precipitation approached from the west-northwest, but it wasn’t rain—it was sleet. Real, genuine sleet (not the ice pellets back in Maine that the natives call “hail”). Fun hike.
Back home, in the front yard, I watched a giant, begging fledgling magpie harass its parent, “Feed me!”
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 11 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting
2. American Robin*
3. Black-billed Magpie* (v)
4. House Finch** (v)
5. Black-chinned Hummingbird
6. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
7. Black-headed Grosbeak
8. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
9. Spotted Towhee
10. Pine Siskin (v)
11. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
12. Black-throated Gray Warbler (v)
13. Warbling Vireo (v)
14. Chipping Sparrow (v)
15. Red-tailed Hawk
16. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
Elsewhere
17. Eurasian Collared Dove
18. Song Sparrow
19. California Quail
20. European Starling
Mammals
Rock Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, black-headed grosbeak, black-throated gray warbler, blue-gray gnatcatcher, California quail, chipping sparrow, Eurasian collared dove, European starling, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, pine siskin, red-tailed hawk, rock squirrel, song sparrow, spotted towhee, warbling vireo, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
