|
|
 |
|
|
Archive for May, 2011
Friday, May 13th, 2011
 Black-throated green warbler. Up early. Clear morning. A bit warmer than yesterday.
Jack and I got to Beech Hill about 7. Sunlight was streaming through the sugarbush, and warblers were singing. Lots of warblers. For a while, in fact, we simply stood there at the edge of the parking lot, and I counted like crazy. The voices of at least eight wood warblers mixed together, along with the gobble of a turkey, the cry of a flicker, and the scream of a herring gull. Also a blue-headed vireo. And a crow. Standing there, I soon realized that black flies might be a problem—they were thick and swarming.
 Chestnut-sided warbler. I gotta confess: it was pretty exciting.
Coming around the first curve, I heard the distinctive chi-bek! of a least flycatcher—then caught sight of the little bird about half-way up a poplar. First-of-year species.
Plenty more birds coming up the trail.The usual towhees and chickadees, a couple of grosbeaks, a veery. (Turkeys seemed particularly active—I heard them gobbling from three places on the hill.) Catbird, yell0w-rumps, sparrows. A group of cormorants flew over in formation as we reached the upper fields. No kestrel today, but coming down the open trail I spotted three turkey vultures soaring over the western slope.
About half-way down, a pair of tree swallows zipped up and began to circle us. They flew very near. Tree swallows are the best flyers, in my opinion, and I desperately wished for a photo—but you just can’t photograph a flying tree swallow. Or I suppose you can, but it’d take a long, long time. Like, days. So I simply stood there and enjoyed their seeming interest in dog and me. They must’ve circled us for a full minute before sailing away to the north across the fields.
 Magnolia warbler. Then, in a little trail-side birch, I heard a black-throated green warbler singing. We walked slowly up, and I got some great looks at the little bird. It was plucking small caterpillars from the branches. Our little insectivorous migrants love them some caterpillars, that’s for sure.
Down toward the Beech Hill Road parking lot, as I was looking to photograph a catbird, suddenly I heard the loud song of a parula behind me. Turned slowly, and the bird was right there. By far the closest I’d ever been to a parula. Too near, in fact, for a decent photograph—especially since those little guys barely stop moving at all.
At the parking lot itself, I heard my first redstart of the year, then saw the bird—an adult male—singing from high in the canopy. And returning, I somehow managed to get a brilliantly feathered magnolia warbler in my sights. (Another first-of-year bird.) Then a couple little sparrows flitted over into the blueberries not far away. A pair of chippies.
We’d spent a lot of time on the hill already, so I picked up the pace on our way back up and over. Down in the eastern fields, I noticed three or four crows perched in the top of a tree and all cawing together. Looked up, and there was a broad-winged hawk soaring in a lazy circle, occasionally emitting its high, thin scree! Coming down the wooded trail, I heard a great crested flycatcher and a pileated woodpecker and—in a nice surprise—a wood thrush. First wood thrush of the year.
Nearing the end of our trip, a couple of sparrows jumped up into a bush near the edge of the trail, and we stopped. Swamp sparrows. Very near the place I saw one a week or so ago.
 Northern parula. The day warmed, and in mid-afternoon I rode my bicycle. The most notable sighting? Common grackles flying out toward the back of a residential care facility toward town. Saw them both coming and going.
Once I compiled my list, I saw that I topped fifty birds today for the first time in 2011. What a great birding day.
Tonight is cool and clear. Tomorrow morning I lead a bird walk in Cushing. It’s supposed to cloud up. I hope we beat the rain—could be a fruitful excursion.
Addendum: at 10:10 p.m., I stepped out to look at the moon and heard the flight song of an American woodcock.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird (voice)
2. Northern parula
3. Chestnut-sided warbler
4. Eastern phoebe
5. Common yellowthroat
6. Black-and-white warbler
7. Wild turkey (voice)
8. Northern flicker (voice)
9. Black-throated green warbler
10. Herring gull (voice)
11. Nashville warbler (voice)
12. Black-throated blue warbler
13. American crow
14. Blue-headed vireo
15. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
16. American goldfinch (voice)
17. Least flycatcher
18. Rose-breasted grosbeak (voice)
19. Black-capped chickadee
20. Tufted titmouse (voice)
21. Veery (voice)
22. Gray catbird
23. Eastern towhee
24. White-throated sparrow
25. Hermit thrush
26. Song sparrow
27. Blue jay (voice)
28. Yellow-rumped warbler
29. Double-crested cormorant
30. American robin
31. Savannah sparrow
32. Yell0w warbler (voice)
33. Tree swallow
34. Turkey vulture
35. Field sparrow (voice)
36. Downy woodpecker
37. Chipping sparrow
38. Mourning dove
39. American redstart
40. Magnolia warbler
41. Broad-winged hawk
42. Great crested flycatcher (voice)
43. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
44. Wood thrush (voice)
45. Swamp sparrow
Elsewhere
46. House finch
47. House sparrow
48. European starling
49. Rock pigeon
50. Common grackle
51. Northern cardinal
52. American woodcock
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 jay, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common grackle, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, least flycatcher, magnolia warbler, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern parula, ovenbird, pileated woodpecker, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, swamp sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, wood thrush, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
 Yellow warbler. Up early. Cloudy but dry. We hopped out into the parking lot, Jack and I, where there were plenty of birds calling. Ovenbird, black-throated green, three or four other warblers, nuthatch, phoebe, crow, vireo, and a gobbling turkey. And more. By the time we reached the upper-lower trail junction, I’d already listed sixteen species—but had no photo opportunities.
 Gray catbird. In fact, I didn’t expect many decent photo opportunities, considering the dim light. But that’s OK. The birds kept coming.
Goldfinch, towhee, rose-breasted grosbeak. I heard the call of a broad-winged hawk, then saw the bird soar low above the trees on up ahead of us. We ascended slower after that, what with my hopes of maybe spotting the bird perching. And sure enough I did spy it lifting from a perch farther up the trail, but it flew low and was shielded by innumerable tree limbs.
Heard quite a few white-throats pawing around in the old leaves—one or two were singing—along with the notes of towhees, the chips of yellow-rumps, and the screams of distant jays. Another gobbling turkey.
At one point in the trail, Jack grew suddenly intensely interested in something he sensed uphill. (I forgot to mention his extreme anxiety—and raised hackles—yesterday at about the same point in the trail.) Clearly he smelled something. Deer? Moose? Bobcat? I suppose we’ll never know.
At the upper fields, a kestrel was perched in the preferred kestrel tree. Heard song sparrows, savannah sparrows, tree swallows, a catbird.
 Song sparrow. Up at Beech Nut, I didn’t see the phoebes, but I did spot an osprey flying low over the western slope. Down the open trail, a field sparrow was singing, and a cowbird (if you want to call that “singing”), and chestnut-sided and yellow warblers. Happened to notice a chippy perched in a tree above us. Also a turkey vulture sailing over.
Robins down there. And a great crested flycatcher for the second straight day. (Same bird?) Heard blue-headed vireos at both parking lots today.
Before retracing our steps back up and over, we traipsed across to a little island of scrubby trees where the yellow warbler was singing. As I circled this tiny eden, I spotted not only the warbler but also a catbird and a yell0wthroat. Seems all three had their nesting-sights set on that particular plot of ground.
Thirty-six species so far.
Lots of yell0w-rumps in the spruces up top. I stood for a while thinking I might get a photo, but the birds flitted quickly away one-by-one to the southeast. Must’ve been eight or ten of ’em.
 Osprey. Descending the wooded trail, I heard nothing new—just more black-throated greens, ovenbirds, chickadees, towhees, jays. At the vernal pool, I thought sure I heard a single quack! of a mallard, but it was coming from the opposite side of the trail. (Weird.) We waited a while, but I heard nothing more—except for the squeaking, scraping branches of the leafing-out hardwoods. (There was a fairly stout breeze.) Still, thirty-six was a nice number of species.
Coming down the last little wooded rise, black flies began to swarm, as did warblers. I looked up and saw at least a dozen of them flitting about in the trees, moving slowly northwestward. Chestnut-sideds, black-throated greens—and a single black-throated blue. I listened for a while to its buzzy zhu, zhu, zhee, zhee! call just to make sure it wasn’t really a black-throated green I was hearing.
And arriving back at the pickup, I heard the song of a hermit thrush. Thirty-eight species today.
Soon after our return home, the sun came out. Later, I rode my bike. Plenty of chippies around. Starlings and pigeons in town. And coming back down Route 1 from Rockport Village, I caught sight of a handsome broad-wing soaring low over the road. I slowed and watched it veer over to perch in a tree overhanging the parking lot of a physical therapy place. Had I a camera with me, by damn, I could’ve gotten a nice photo.
 Penobscot Bay. Back home, I saw evidence that both the nuthatches and phoebes are nesting still. Heard the chip note of a cardinal and the bright calls of titmice. Even saw a ‘rump foraging around in the low brush out back there. Then I mowed the lawn.
Tonight, dew covers the newly short grass out front, and a waxwing moon shines its light down on everything.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird (voice)
2. Black-throated green warbler
3. Northern parula
4. Black-capped chickadee
5. Wild turkey (voice)
6. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
7. Eastern phoebe (voice)
8. Northern flicker (voice)
9. Black-and-white warbler
10. Common yellowthroat
11. American crow
12. Nashville warbler
13. Blue-headed vireo
14. American goldfinch (voice)
15. Eastern towhee
16. Rose-breasted grosbeak (voice)
17. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
18. White-throated sparrow
19. Yellow-rumped warbler
20. Broad-winged hawk
21. Blue jay (voice)
22. Common raven
23. Song sparrow
24. American kestrel
25. Tree swallow (voice)
26. Gray catbird
27. Savannah sparrow (voice)
28. Osprey
29. Field sparrow (voice)
30. Chipping sparrow
31. American robin (voice)
32. Turkey vulture
33. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
34. Brown-headed cowbird
35. Yellow warbler
36. Great crested flycatcher (voice)
37. Black-throated blue warbler (voice)
38. Hermit thrush (voice)
Elsewhere
39. House finch
40. Herring gull
41. European starling
42. Rock pigeon
43. Northern cardinal
44. Tufted titmouse
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern parula, osprey, ovenbird, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
 Savannah sparrow. Jack and I rose early to get a head start on a little bird presentation I had scheduled for today’s Beech Nut open house at Beech Hill. The house finch, dauntless, was singing as we jumped in the pickup. En route, we encountered a couple turkeys near South Street.
 Common yellowthroat. The morning was drizzly, chilly. Plus, a pretty strong northwest wind was blowing. But at the wooded trailhead, I stopped to count the voices of eight birds—six of them warblers. Ovenbird, black-throated green, black-and-white, Nashville, parula, yellowthroat. Also heard a chickadee and the wide-spaced phrases of a blue-headed vireo.
Coming up the trail, the wind rocked the budding trees. Heard the call of a towhee and the notes of some yell0w-rumps. My hands got cold.
We emerged into the upper fields, saw no kestrel or swallows—but I did hear the jumbled notes of a catbird, the ethereal song of a hermit thrush, and the lovely thin call of a savannah sparrow. A yellow-rump flitted away. Heard a song sparrow (and saw a savannah) as we arrived at the summit, where Joe, CMLT’s stewardship project manager, was unloading materials into the hut. I thought it interesting that out of fourteen birds on my list so far, I only actually saw two of them.
The wind was blowing like crazy up there. Kristen, my fellow presenter, arrived. Then a couple volunteers. Not ideal conditions for a hike up the hill, and attendance was slim at the outset. But after a while, the drizzle let up, and the wind swung around to the north-northeast. A few other people hiked up finally, checked out the hut, stayed to discuss birds. We counted several from right at the summit: crow, gull, tree swallows, a pair of kestrels, phoebe, turkey vultures. A field sparrow was singing down the western slope. A pair of ospreys flew over. At one point we watched a little herd of deer bound quickly along the edge of the far eastern field.
 Great crested flycatcher. Two big black birds flew over, and the smaller one dive-bombed the larger one. Crow and raven. And we heard the songs of a couple other species—including a rose-breasted grosbeak, which I spotted in a small upper branch of a little hardwood, somehow clinging there, singing, as the branch wagged and swayed.
About 10 a.m., just as my shift at Beech Nut was ending, the clouds began to disperse, and the morning sun emerged. The air warmed, and the wind seemed to lessen a bit. Warblers were flitting around. I took Jack down the open trail just to look around, and we encountered a great crested flycatcher along the road—a first-of-year sighting. Also heard an odd-sounding towhee (I actually tracked down the source of the strange call, thinking it another species) and watched a yellow warbler flit about, singing.
We added nothing new on our hike back down to the truck. More towhees, chickadees, a few yellow-rumps.
The sun flickered in and out the rest of the day, as the north-ish wind persisted. Saw the usual urban species in town. Watched a mallard overfly Route 1.
Tonight, peepers are singing. It’s still blowing out there. I rather like a spring night’s wind.
 Clearing over the bay. Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird
2. Black-throated green warbler (voice)
3. Black-and-white warbler (voice)
4. Nashville warbler (voice)
5. Northern parula (voice)
6. Common yell0wthroat
7. Black-capped chickadee
8. Blue-headed vireo (voice)
9. Eastern towhee
10. Yell0w-rumped warbler
11. Gray catbird (voice)
12. Hermit thrush (voice)
13. Savannah sparrow
14. Song sparrow
15. American crow
16. Herring gull
17. Eastern phoebe
18. Field sparrow (voice)
19. Turkey vulture
20. Tree swallow
21. American kestrel
22. Double-crested cormorant
23. Common raven
24. Osprey
25. Brown-headed cowbird
26. Rose-breasted grosbeak
27. White-throated sparrow (voice)
28. Blue jay (voice)
29. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
30. Chipping sparrow (voice)
31. Great crested flycatcher
32. Yellow warbler
Elsewhere
33. House finch
34. Wild turkey
35. Mourning dove
36. European starling
37. Rock pigeon
38. Mallard
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern parula, osprey, ovenbird, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, turkey vulture, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
|
|
| |
| Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson |
|
|
