Spring in February?
So it seemed. During last month, I saw two phenomena I usually witness in April or later:
- Canada geese flying up from the south.
- Magpies carrying nesting material.
Pie-billed Grebe
For weeks, we have enjoyed sunny, 50-degree days full of bird song and snow melt. After the unusually cold, snowy winter (local Purgatory resort has had over 200 inches this year), it feels like the canyon is taking a collective breath. I was happy to see that Fred, the local magpie with zero tail feathers, made it through the tough times.
[Sure, as soon as I post this we’ll have more snow and cold. No matter.]
Up on the ridge (about 800 feet at about 8,100 feet elevation), I watched a curious hawk-raven interaction. I’m used to seeing one or two ravens heckle hawks and eagles. On this day, I watched a raven and hawk (smaller than a Red Tailed, maybe a Cooper’s or Northern Harrier) swoop and climb, swoop and climb. This was no heckling, where the raven stayed consistently above the hawk. The birds swapped positions. There was a casual nature in their movements. They seemed to be at play. How cool.
39 species over the course of a few weeks.
Mammals:
Coyote
Mule Deer
Cottontail Rabbit
Brush Mouse
Pocket Gopher
Chipmunk (still working on ID)
Rock Squirrel
Prairie Dog
Skunk
Elk
Birds:
Hairy Woodpecker
Nuthatch
Red-Winged Black Bird
Pie-Billed Grebe
Canada Goose
Townsend’s Solitaire
Red Shafted Flicker
Steller’s Jay
Rufous Sided Towhee
Black Capped Chickadee
American Crow
Common Raven
Scrub Jay
Magpie
Turkey
Great Blue Heron
Dark-Eyed Junco (and its many varieties)
Ringed Turtle Dove
Rock Dove
Mountain Bluebird
American Kestrel
Turkey Vulture
Red-Tailed Hawk
Starling
American Robin
Great Horned Owl
Golden Eagle
Bald Eagle
Pine Siskin
Rufous Sided Towhee