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19 May 2013
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Rockport, Maine, USA
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May 18th, 2013
 Scarlet tanager. OK, so here’s what happened. I rose early, as usual at this time of year, but since Jack and I have Boone here this weekend, and I didn’t feel like birding with two dogs, I left them home and came out to Beech Hill by myself. The angling sun shone brilliantly on the landscape—until right as I got out of my pickup in the Rockville Street parking lot. Clouds had moved over about half the sky. The half with the sun in it.
 Veery. I spent a while cursing the clouds for the dim light they left me with, bird photos being (apparently) the main idea of my spring hikes up there. I managed a couple dim shots—catbird, chestnut-sided warbler—but that was about it. All the way up to the fields, where I stopped to stalk a singing yellow warbler. And as I stood still on the trail, I caught sight of something hopping along in my peripheral vision and turned slowly to see a veery coming up behind me. And I got the best portrait to date of that typically very shy species. Sweet.
Feeling a little better, I crept alongside the fields as a mallard flew over, then four cormorants. I spotted an unusual sparrow that chattered a little before flitting away—a vesper sparrow, I’m pretty sure. And I got some good looks at chasing, mating, nesting yellow warblers.
Then coming up the little wooded stretch below the summit, the sky cleared again finally—and I heard it: the four- and five-note raspy call of a tanager.
Coincidentally, just yesterday I’d been teased by a friend who asked how come I hadn’t yet photographed a scarlet tanager this year. I had to get a picture of that bird. So I crashed off trail, over last falls leaves and between this springs fresh green foliage. I followed the tanager’s voice. From past experience, I knew it would be perched high in the canopy and hidden by the new-leafed trees and not moving around much. It’s rather amazing, really, that such a vivid red bird can stay so hidden. But after two or three minutes, I spotted it. Angled around below here and there working to get a good view. Finally got a photo or two—and even a short video. Sweet.
 Eastern kingbird. Continued on over the hill and down the open side in the bright morning sun. Plenty of birds about, a couple other OK photos. Then coming back up, I noticed a couple of big flycatcher-looking birds perched on weed tips. Right away I knew they were kingbirds—four or five of them, scattered about the slope. One fluttered over to a trailside post and just sat there as I walked slowly toward it. I got maybe fifteen or twenty feet away before it flew. Meaning I got a lot of photos. First-of-year tanager, first-of-year kingbird.
And on the way home I saw a Cooper’s hawk perched on a telephone line. Sweet.
Returned with the dogs in afternoon and hiked the open slope. Added a merlin to the list—it zipped by low and fast as I talked to a friend I’d met on the trail. And that’s pretty much what happened.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails; beginning at 2:45, I hiked the open trail.
1. Ovenbird**
2. Common yellowthroat**
3. Tufted titmouse
4. Black-throated green warbler** (v)
5. Black-and-white warbler**
6. Chestnut-sided warbler
7. Red-eyed vireo
8. Eastern phoebe
9. Northern parula**
10. American goldfinch (v)
11. Northern cardinal** (v)
12. Veery
13. Gray catbird**
14. Black-capped chickadee
15. American redstart**
16. Yellow-rumped warbler
17. Common raven
18. American crow*
19. Herring gull*
20. Great crested flycatcher (v)
21. Mourning dove*
22. White-throated sparrow
23. Nashville warbler
24. Yellow warbler**
25. Field sparrow
26. Tree swallow (v)
27. Mallard
28. Double-crested cormorant
29. Song sparrow**
30. Vesper sparrow
31. Hermit thrush (v)
32. American robin*
33. Scarlet tanager
34. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
35. Turkey vulture
36. Purple finch (v)
37. Chipping sparrow**
38. Blue-headed vireo (v)
39. Eastern kingbird
40. Broad-winged hawk
41. Black-throated blue warbler (v)
42. Magnolia warbler
43. Merlin
Elsewhere
44. House finch
45. European starling
46. Cooper’s hawk
47. House sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, cooper's hawk, double-crested cormorant, eastern kingbird, eastern phoebe, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, magnolia warbler, mallard, merlin, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern parula, ovenbird, purple finch, red-eyed vireo, scarlet tanager, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, vesper sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
May 17th, 2013
 Yellow warbler. Quick early hike up and down the wooded trails on a cloudy morning. Stopped for a couple or three waves of little birds—including another singing blackpoll and a little ruby-crowned kinglet. Catbirds are getting bold, and redstarts are suddenly everywhere. As we were getting back to the pickup, I heard (and saw) a loon flying swiftly overhead.
 American redstart. Returned in early afternoon to the open trails. By then it had turned sunny. Siesta time for most birds, but a particular yellow warbler had me craning my neck for about ten minutes, trying to spot it in the bustin’-out leaves. Finally got a couple photos.
Cloudy, sunny, windy, warmish, coolish. Spring in Maine.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:15 a.m., I hiked the wooded trails; beginning at 2:15 p.m., I walked the open trail.
1. Common yellowthroat**
2. Ovenbird**
3. Chestnut-sided warbler**
4. Black-throated green warbler**
5. White-breasted nuthatch
6. Blue jay (v)
7. Tufted titmouse** (v)
8. Eastern towhee
9. Black-and-white warbler**
10. Northern parula
11. Red-eyed vireo
12. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
13. American crow*
14. Black-capped chickadee** (v)
15. Gray catbird**
16. Blackpoll warbler (v)
17. American redstart**
18. Veery (v)
19. Least flycatcher
20. Mourning dove*
21. Nashville warbler
22. Ruby-crowned kinglet
23. White-throated sparrow
24. Yellow warbler**
25. Field sparrow (v)
26. American goldfinch (v)
27. American robin*
28. Hermit thrush (v)
29. Common loon
30. Tree swallow (v)
31. Savannah sparrow
32. Great crested flycatcher (v)
33. Eastern phoebe (v)
34. Purple finch (v)
Elsewhere
35. House finch
36. Song sparrow
37. European starling
38. Herring gull
39. Rock pigeon
40. Laughing gull (v)
41. Osprey (v)
42. Northern mockingbird
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blackpoll warbler, blue jay, chestnut-sided warbler, common loon, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, laughing gull, least flycatcher, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern mockingbird, northern parula, osprey, ovenbird, purple finch, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, veery, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
May 16th, 2013
 Wilson's warbler. Up early, thanks to a little sun leaking through the blinds. However, by the time Jack and I got to Beech Hill, we were surrounded by fog. Not thick fog, but mist, grayness, dampness. However, the rain had passed and a whole new gang of migrants were moving through. Right away, in fact, I heard what sounded like a red-eyed vireo—and my binoculars helped me confirm it. First first-of-year species of the day.
 White-crowned sparrow. Just in the sugarbush near the parking lot, I heard multiple warblers: ovenbird, black-throated green, parula, chestnut-sided, black-and-white, yellowthroat, blackpoll. (An aside: I love the call of a blackpoll—the sharp, steady, monotone notes, rising in intensity, then diminishing again.) Saw an osprey fly over in the mist. Heard a raven.
About half way up, I had to stop in the leafing-out trees because of the wave of warblers moving through. Black-throated greens, chestnut-sideds, yellows, black-and-whites, Nashvilles. While attempting photos of all the canopy-foraging birds, I heard the unmistakable ch-bek! of a least flycatcher. First-of-year bird No. 2.
Heard a turkey, heard a ruby-crowned kinglet. Lots more birds flitting through the trees just below the summit. As we reached that summit, a scattering of sparrows flew, and one perched up ahead of us: a white-crowned. Another first-of-year species.
Heard another prairie warbler coming down the open trail. Heard a black-throated blue warbler. The redstart and a turkey were hanging around down at the Beech Hill Road parking lot. Lots more warblers down there, too, in fact—including a Wilson’s that posed for a photo in its jaunty toupee. The fourth (and final) first-of-year bird of the day.
 American redstart. Got to thinking what’s still missing. Alder flycatcher, for one thing. Scarlet tanager, for another. Black-billed cuckoo. Pretty sure I’ve heard or seen all the other common Beech Hill birds—thanks to a big day today.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted titmouse** (v)
2. Ovenbird**
3. Black-throated green warbler**
4. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
5. Eastern towhee
6. Northern parula**
7. Red-eyed vireo†
8. Blackpoll warbler (v)
9. Black-and-white warbler**
10. Chestnut-sided warbler**
11. Blue jay
12. Osprey
13. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
14. Common yellowthroat**
15. Common raven
16. Gray catbird
17. Veery
18. American crow*
19. American redstart
20. White-throated sparrow
21. Nashville warbler
22. Yellow warbler**
23. Mourning dove*
24. Black-capped chickadee**
25. Least flycatcher† (v)
26. Yellow-rumped warbler
27. Blue-headed vireo
28. Wild turkey
29. Northern cardinal**
30. Ruby-crowned kinglet (v)
31. Song sparrow**
32. American robin**
33. Savannah sparrow
34. White-crowned sparrow†
35. American goldfinch (v)
36. Hermit thrush (v)
37. Prairie warbler (v)
38. Black-throated blue warbler (v)
39. Purple finch (v)
40. Wilson’s warbler†
41. Brown-headed cowbird (v)
42. Eastern phoebe
43. Chipping sparrow**
44. Broad-winged hawk (v)
Elsewhere
45. House finch (v)
46. Herring gull
47. Double-crested cormorant
48. European starling
49. Rock pigeon
50. Common grackle
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
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| Bird Report is an intermittent record of what's outside my window in Rockport, Maine, USA (44°08'N latitude, 69°06'W longitude), and vicinity. —Brian Willson |
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