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.

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.

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