It was one of those mornings. First, I waited fifteen or twenty minutes to head with Jack to the trailhead, figuring we’d have more time in the sun than in the mountain shade. The idea (as mentioned yesterday) was to see if sunny slopes encouraged more activity.
In fact, not really. Oh, there were plenty of little quiet birds flitting about, just out of eye- and earshot. I missed three or four IDs (and at least a couple species) on account of a puzzling clumsiness—walking too fast, plunging around corners without taking a peek first, staying in my head instead of attuned to my surroundings. A good example of how not to bird.
But one of the mystery species (House Wren) came to light later, when I studied a couple blurry photos I’d taken in its general direction, and another pic helped me confirm a Sharp-shinned Hawk (not a Cooper’s).
Later, back at home, I chased a shadow on the front lawn and got a decent photo of a soaring red-tail. Still later—in that same cloudless sky—I spied a Golden Eagle.
Hard to complain on a crazy day like this one.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:21 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Rock Pigeon*
2. House Finch*
3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
4. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
5. Spotted Towhee
6. Black-billed Magpie*
7. Western Tanager
8. Black-capped Chickadee**
9. Downy Woodpecker (v)
10. Pine Siskin (v)
11. Mourning Dove
12. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
13. House Wren
14. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
15. Sharp-shinned Hawk
16. Northern Flicker
17. Lazuli Bunting
Elsewhere
18. California Quail
19. Red-tailed Hawk
20. Golden Eagle
21. Eurasian Collared Dove (v)
Mammals
Mountain Cottontail
Rock Squirrel (v)
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, blue-gray gnatcatcher, broad-tailed hummingbird, California quail, downy woodpecker, Eurasian collared dove, golden eagle, house finch, house wren, lazuli bunting, mountain cottontail, mourning dove, northern flicker, pine siskin, red-breasted nuthatch, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, rock squirrel, sharp-shinned hawk, spotted towhee, western tanager, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
