Читать книгу Trinity Alps & Vicinity: Including Whiskeytown, Russian Wilderness, and Castle Crags Areas. A Hiking and Backpacking Guide онлайн

29 страница из 134

Photo: Luther Linkhart

Birds

Nothing begins the day quite as well as birdsong outside your tent—unless you’re exhausted from the previous day’s hike and would like nothing more in the morning than to sleep in. Unless the weather is horribly bad, you’ll rarely be without that gentle awakener in the Klamath Mountains. Vireos, warblers, robins, and finches greet you in the mixed-conifer forest. Of course, you’ll undoubtedly hear a few raucous jays as well. In the higher realms of the red-fir forest, you may hear a mountain bluebird, a golden-crowned kinglet, or a hermit thrush. The distant drumming of a pileated woodpecker, evidence that some creatures can be so industrious early in the morning, isn’t all bad. Hummingbirds are occasionally seen in some of the upper communities, no doubt drawn by the stunning wildflowers of midsummer. On the lower trails you’re sure to find the dust wallows of California quail, and you may hear a mother quail calling to her chicks to freeze in their tracks. Even though you’ve just heard their peeping, you’re unlikely to find a single chick after they become silent and motionless, as their camouflage renders them virtually invisible. Blue grouse also have excellent camouflage—you seldom see them in the grass and brush until they instantaneously explode from under your feet, doubling your heart rate.