The past couple weeks or so I’ve been following the travels of one famous vagrant Steller’s Sea Eagle that’s been wandering up and down my old Maine coast stomping grounds. Birder friends have taken some great photos of this huge eagle, one of about 4,000 left on the planet (the other 3,999 of ’em mostly staying back home in the Bering Sea).
Me? I’ve been stalking Steller’s Jays.
Both the eagle and the jay were first “discovered” by German naturalist Georg Steller back in the 1700s when exploring Russia and Alaska. The jay has many subspecies.
The only one I know hangs around here in the high desert of Utah, but it’s wily and shy and hard to chase. I happened to luck out today when first I heard one’s voice, then spied it in the crook of a juniper tree before it winged away with its patented call of shook-shook-shook-shook!
(Note: another jay answered it from below.)
Grandeur Peak Area List
At 09:31 MST, I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. House Finch
3. Black-billed Magpie**
4. Rock Pigeon*
5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
6. Dark-eyed Junco
7. Northern Flicker* (v)
8. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
9. Steller’s Jay
Elsewhere
10. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
Red Squirrel
Mule Deer
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, house finch, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, mule deer, northern flicker, red squirrel, rock pigeon, Steller’s jay, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
