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6 September 2010
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Rockport, Maine, USA
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Posts Tagged ‘house sparrow’
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
 Broad-winged hawk (juvenile). If yesterday was hot, today might’ve even been hotter. Aw, not all that hot, really, for a guy who grew up in Texas—not 90 degrees, I don’t think. But probably mid- to upper-80s (F). In fact, before 7 a.m., as Jack and I were climbing the green, wooded hillside this first day of September, the air must’ve been at least room temperature. Maybe even 75 or so.
 Yellow-rumped warbler. Not too many birds occurred right away. They were silent, hunkered down out of the heat, hiding out. I heard the usual summer residents—catbird and yellowthroat seem always near each other—including a brief tut-tut of a robin. (They’re extremely quiet up there these days.) More young yellow-rumps chipping about in the foliage, both the young hardwoods coming up and the grove of spruces up top. And flickers—in fact, as we came up over the summit and descended the open trail, there appeared up ahead a family of at least five flickers (foraging along the trail with a single mourning dove).
They took flight as we approached, the flickers—one by one, in undulating flight, their white rumps flashing, emitting their wicka-wicka-wicka calls. I have to say I rather like flickers. I like the little red heart tattoo they wear on the backs of their necks.
Steamy out in the bay. Owls head jutted out into the bay amid a cloud of haze.
Saw both phoebes and alder flycatchers perched in the tips of trees. Their chip notes are similar, those two.
 Common yellowthroat. On our return trip—Jack panting quickly, my T-shirt soaked with sweat—we eagerly dove into the shady wooded section. I’d counted eighteen birds by then and didn’t expect but maybe a couple more. But the lower wooded trail surprised: first a pewee’s lazy, poignant, dying-summertime call; then the exaggeratedly elongated call of a pileated woodpecker just beyond sight through the trees; then a black-and-white warbler’s somewhat abbreviated call lower down; and finally, as we were only a couple hundred yards from the parking lot, the sudden appearance of a young broad-winged hawk.
A broadwing is a wonderful thing. This young bird checked us out, Jack and me, then flapped up to a more distant branch and observed us head on (alas, my auto-focus betrayed me). Finally, it flapped silently out of sight. I found myself wondering if this bird is the reason for the couple piles of remnant feathers I’ve seen the past week or so along the wooded trails.
 Northern flicker. Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American goldfinch
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. Cedar waxwing
4. Gray catbird
5. Common yellowthroat
6. American robin (voice)
7. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
8. Yellow-rumped warbler
9. Song sparrow
10. Eastern towhee (voice)
11. White-throated sparrow
12. Mourning dove
13. Eastern phoebe
14. Alder flycatcher
15. Blue jay (voice)
16. Savannah sparrow
17. Northern flicker
18. American crow (voice)
19. Eastern wood-pewee (voice)
20. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
21. Black-and-white warbler (voice)
22. Broad-winged hawk
Elsewhere
23. House sparrow
24. Northern cardinal
25. Herring gull
26. European starling
 Red squirrel.
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, Eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, European starling, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, Northern cardinal, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
 Waning moon (from the summit). Got off to a bit of a late start this morning, but considering on the way to the pickup I heard a black-and-white warbler’s song coming from the oak grove up back of my place, my hopes were high. Then again, I’m not sure about hopes, high or otherwise. It is what it is (and it’s usually amazing).
 Black-and-white warbler (female), Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 31 August 2010. Warm and steamy. Sun streaming down. A blue jay first thing, chickadees roaming. As I’ve lately mentioned—at this late-summer time of year, at least—it pays to listen for chickadees, because for whatever reason they seem often to be surrounded by other silent little birds, warblers and vireos and sparrows. Today was no exception: starting up the last little wooded stretch before the summit, I heard a group of maybe a half-dozen chickadees, paused to check them out, and right away saw a couple of black-and-white warblers, a couple of red-eyed vireos, a white-throated sparrow, and (of course) several chickadees. The vireo got so close it was a challenge to get any kind of photo. The (female) black-and-white hung around agreeably, but the shady woodland wasn’t exactly conducive to excellent photography.
At the summit, a pair (or more) of yell0w-rumps chased amon the spruces. They’ve been dependable lately. And I saw three young (no doubt) yellowthroats all clustered together in the low branches of a tree.
A single hummingbird flying away. Waxwings all over the hill. (Also dragonflies—everywhere.) One or two savannah sparrows. A flicker on the open trail. A pileated woodpecker calling on our return down the wooded slope. And also the note of a veery.
 Northern flicker on the trail. Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Blue jay (voice)
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. Red-eyed vireo
4. Black-billed cuckoo (voice)
5. Common yellowthroat
6. Gray catbird
7. Eastern towhee (voice)
8. American goldfinch
9. Song sparrow
10. Black-and-white warbler
11. White-throated sparrow (voice)
12. Downy woodpecker
13. Cedar waxwing
14. Yellow-rumped warbler
15. Ruby-throated hummingbird
16. Savannah sparrow
17. Northern flicker
18. American crow (voice)
19. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
20. Veery (voice)
Elsewhere
21. House sparrow
22. Herring gull
23. European starling
 Delicate fungi.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-and-white warbler, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, downy woodpecker, eastern towhee, European starling, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, red-eyed vireo, ruby throated hummingbird, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, veery, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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Monday, August 30th, 2010
 Black-throated blue warbler. Jack and I got to Beech Hill about 7 this morning, and already the temperature had risen well into the 70s (F). The sun blazed from the eastern sky, warming the forested side of the hill—which, of course, is where we begin our hike each morning.
 Blue jay. Little frogs calling in the periphery. The usual common species as we ascended. Coming around the little stand of popple where chestnut-sideds sing in spring, I suddenly heard the clear four- or five-note call of a redstart. Then a sharp chip from above: a warbler there, a black-throated blue. It flitted close—but directly above us, where it proceeded to pick a spider out of its web up there. It chipped, eyed us below, robbed the web of whatever morsel the spider had wrapped up. Just as I imagined that if this bird defecated, it’d come pretty close to my head—it pooped. The poop landed on a berry leaf about a foot away.
Soon after, a couple of ruffed grouse rose loudly at our approach through thick undergrowth.
At the summit, a breeze whispered through the boughs of the spruces. I heard sparrows and a single yellow-rump. That’s all.
 Common yellowthroat (female). Coming down the open trail, I heard jays and crows. At the hardwood thickets along Beech Hill Road, a family of jays pecked at acorns in the shadows. A titmouse carried some morsel or other. Another titmouse hung around nearby. Yellowthroats and catbirds sent out their subtle alarm calls and made very brief, shady appearances. From somewhere, a cicada sang.
Sweat soaked my T-shirt as we climbed back up and over. A solitary savannah sparrow flitted down the open slope—a migrating bird, I figure. And in the lower wooded trail, I heard only chickadees, nuthatches, a wood-pewee, and a single vireo.
* * *
This afternoon, while out cycling in the summery heat, I saw a good-sized flock of starlings circling above the commercial strip of Route 1. The sighting gave me a premonition of fall.
 Tufted titmouse. Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
4. Common yellowthroat
5. Hairy woodpecker
6. American redstart (voice)
7. Black-throated blue warbler
8. American robin (voice)
9. Ruffed grouse (flushed)
10. Cedar waxwing
11. American goldfinch
12. White-throated sparrow
13. Song sparrow (voice)
14. Yellow-rumped warbler
15. Northern flicker (voice)
16. American crow (voice)
17. Blue jay
18. Mourning dove
19. Gray catbird
20. Tufted titmouse
21. Savannah sparrow
22. Eastern wood-pewee (voice)
Elsewhere
22. Herring gull
23. Osprey
24. House sparrow
25. Northern cardinal
26. European starling
 Cedar waxwing.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern wood-pewee, European starling, gray catbird, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, Northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, red-eyed vireo, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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Sunday, August 29th, 2010
 Yellow-rumped warbler (juvenile). Slept really late. Not sure why Jack didn’t wake me earlier—but we headed right up to Beech Hill and didn’t arrive until 9:15. Already pockets of heat and swirls of humidity had gathered in the moist, green hollows of the eastern slope, by now well lit by yellow sunlight.
Headed to the pickup, I heard—then saw—a small family of red-eyed vireos in the trees out back. Quay! one of them was saying. And coming up the hill, the second species I counted (after crow) was a red-eyed vireo (not unusual), but this one was singing a typical vireo song. Then came a chickadee, then a yellowthroat. Then the voice of the cuckoo that must’ve nested down on that side of the hill this year. Several times I’ve heard it there lately.
 Yellow-rumped warbler (juvenile). A raven croaked during our ascent. And between the tops of trees I caught sight of a large dark bird flapping east across the brilliant blue. Dark, with some white patches. An eagle? An osprey? I didn’t get a good enough look and so will never know.
At one point chickadees alerted me to a small gang of wood-warblers flitting about the warming canopy. Least shy was a young yellow-rump. There were also young chestnut-sideds there.
It being late, and fairly hot, not a lot of birds jumped out around the open trail. Came back over ahead of a good-sized group of hikers, and it was nice to dive into the cool shade of the wooded slope past Beech Nut. Heard a pewee and a nuthatch and a pileated woodpecker. Watched a pair of hairy woodpeckers tapping about in neighboring oaks.
Speaking of the oaks, dog and I passed through a little shower of acorns down there—they’ve been falling for a few weeks, but even with very little wind this morning they fell, and several landed fairly near us. One day I will get beaned.
Cicadas sang. Frogs. Crickets. No doubt it is still summer.
 Hairy woodpecker. Beech Hill List
Beginning at 9:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American crow (voice)
2. Red-eyed vireo
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. Common yellowthroat
5. Black-billed cuckoo (voice)
6. Eastern towhee (voice)
7. Common raven (voice)
8. Gray catbird
9. Yellow-rumped warbler
10. Chestnut-sided warbler
11. Cedar waxwing
12. Hairy woodpecker
13. American goldfinch (voice)
14. White-throated sparrow
15. Song sparrow
16. Savannah sparrow
17. Eastern flicker (voice)
18. Blue jay
19. Eastern wood-pewee (voice)
20. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
21. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
Elsewhere
22. Herring gull
23. House sparrow
 Feathers on the trail.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern flicker, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house sparrow, pileated woodpecker, red-eyed vireo, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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Saturday, August 28th, 2010
 Red-tailed hawk (Weskeag Marsh). Jack and I slept late. It’s Saturday, after all, and I’m fighting off the Lyme disease bacterium. OK, so the meds have pretty much fought it off already—but still. A man’s gotta sleep sometime.
 Blue-headed vireo (Beech Hill). But hit the hill we did, just a little late. Sun was out. A little breezy. Crickets singing, and cicadas. A couple monarchs and other butterflies. Just a hint of fall ion the air, along with a few red leaves. And birds. Pretty many birds.
First to call was a hairy woodpecker, and then a few of the usual suspects, and then a black-billed cuckoo, and then we startled a partridge. As the trail opened up, where we came upon alder flycatchers yesterday, today we came upon phoebes. My friend Kristen says flycatchers migrate together, so maybe this is what’s going on.
Then, surprisingly, a field sparrow hopped over to harangue us for a while. It’s funny. You hear their musical song in spring and early summer, but you can’t get near enough for a photo. Then, once they nest and (presumably) have young to defend, they seek you out and get close. This is the second such bird I’ve photographed on these terms of his, not mine.
 Field sparrow (Beech Hill). Down toward Beech Hill Road, I heard some chickadees and so began to scan the hardwoods—chickadees often being the indicator of other, quieter species flitting about, I’ve learned. Sure enough, I spotted a parula among them, along with a chestnut-sided warbler and a couple I couldn’t identify.
Then I heard the strange, very soft warbling sound I’d heard down there before without seeing its source. But this time I did: a blue-headed vireo. I still sort of shake my head at how different the soft warble is from its typical call, but there you go.
 Bobolink (Weskeag Marsh). Nothing much else on Beech Hill, but at high tide this early afternoon I met my friends Kristen and Paul at Weskeag Marsh in south Thomaston, the idea being that shorebirds would be moving through. Well, rather oddly, we saw very few shorebirds moving through. There were some least sandpipers and yellowlegs. There were snowy and great egrets. There were a pair or three red-tailed hawks. A great-blue heron. And—curiously, to me—a bobolink way out in the pannes. But no great clouds of shorebirds. A lonesome merlin flew over, even, looking similarly baffled at the dearth of wheeling flocks birds.
It was beautiful down there, though. Photogenic clouds in a summer-blue sky, and a red-tail up there soaring.
 Least sandpiper (Weskeag Marsh). Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
2. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. Eastern towhee (voice)
5. Common yellowthroat
6. Black-billed cuckoo (voice)
7. White-throated sparrow
8. Ruffed grouse (flushed, voice)
9. Eastern phoebe
10. Field sparrow
11. Gray catbird
12. American crow
13. Cedar waxwing
14. Song sparrow
15. Mourning dove
16. Savannah sparrow
17. Blue jay
18. American goldfinch
19. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
20. Blue-headed vireo
21. Tufted titmouse
22. Northern parula
23. Chestnut-sided warbler
 Greater yellowlegs (Weskeag Marsh). Weskeag Marsh List
Arrived at 2:15 p.m., walked the pannes.
24. Northern shoveler
25. Herring gull
26. Snowy egret
27. Red-tailed hawk
28. Great egret
29. Merlin
30. Least sandpiper
31. Bobolink
32. Greater yellowlegs
33. Lesser yellowlegs
34. Great blue heron
35. Double-crested cormorant
Elsewhere
36. House sparrow
 Weskeag Marsh.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, bobolink, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, Eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, gray catbird, great blue heron, great egret, greater yellowlegs, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house sparrow, least sandpiper, lesser yellowlegs, merlin, mourning dove, northern parula, northern shoveler, red-eyed vireo, red-tailed hawk, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, snowy egret, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow
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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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