High today, around 6500 feet along the Siskiyou Mountains’ ridge from Mount Ashland south and west along Forest Service Road 20 to Meridian Overlook.   Red-breasted Nuthatch in a fir tree.  Most of the birds were moving too fast for pictures.  But the scattered fir groves were alive with small birds.

Location:     Mt. Ashland
Observation date:     7/14/09
Number of species:     17

Red-tailed Hawk     2
American Kestrel     1
Rufous Hummingbird     4
Red-breasted Sapsucker     1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)     1
Steller’s Jay     1
Common Raven     1
Red-breasted Nuthatch     3
House Wren     1
American Robin     3
Orange-crowned Warbler     5
Nashville Warbler     2
Yellow-rumped Warbler     2
Green-tailed Towhee     1
Chipping Sparrow     6
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)     50
Pine Siskin     45

And at least one mammal sat up and took notice when I arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOWER DOWN

This is one of the many Lazuli Buntings in the old quarry on upper Granite Street, around 2300 feet.  There are numerous youngsters there, drab and hard to distinguish.

 

Location:     Granite St.–upper
Observation date:     7/14/09
Number of species:     11

Mourning Dove     2
Anna’s Hummingbird     1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)     1
Western Wood-Pewee     2
Warbling Vireo     1
Steller’s Jay     1
House Wren     1
Nashville Warbler     1
Western Tanager     1
Spotted Towhee     4
Lazuli Bunting     8

At that low elevation I was observed by the heat-loving California ground squirrels. They’re twice as big as their moutane cousin, the golden-mantled.