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Archive for August, 2011
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
 Birch. I awoke this early morning to the song of an ovenbird. Which is the ringtone of my cell phone. Which is my emergency phone. Which usually only rings if there’s been a server crash. Which there was this early morning. Happy to say it was a quick and easy fix. Happier still to have gone out with Jack at the same time a yellow warbler was singing. Two warblers.
Also a lowering sky and a tumultuous wind that made the forecast of possible thunderstorms seem particularly plausible. While at my desk soon after, I got to thinking about the suddenly tall grass of my front lawn and figured I ought to go out and mow during lunch-hour. Which I did. A windy mow.
Considering the online weather radar showed a line of thunderstorms approaching, I thought probably Jack and I should hike Beech Hill a bit earlier than usual. Which we did. No one else up there. No birds, either. OK, that’s not completely true—I heard a goldfinch and a waxwing as we hurried up the hill, and I spotted a solitary robin fly down from a height into the crown of a tree. A patch of dark clouds loomed low over the inland hills, and mist covered Chickawaukie Lake to the southeast. Which is where the wind (like the radar storms) was coming from.
We hurried up and over the hill and down to where the blackberries grow. Still plenty of those. No birds down there. On our way back up and over, a shower arrived and we picked up our pace. Not a hard shower, and it let up quickly. But who knew what would follow? Or when exactly? I couldn’t really tell from the dark, diffuse sky.
Heard chickadees near the parking lot and saw a song sparrow flitting away as we exited. The heavier rain came within the hour.
And tonight, lightning. Thunder. Intermittently strong rain.
But I suppose that’s a mole hill compared to Hurricane Irene, due here over the weekend.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American goldfinch (voice)
2. Cedar waxwing (voice)
3. American robin
4. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
5. Song sparrow
Elsewhere
6. Yellow warbler
7. American crow
8. Herring gull
9. Mallard
10. Double-crested cormorant
11. Northern cardinal
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, double-crested cormorant, herring gull, mallard, northern cardinal, song sparrow, yellow warbler
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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
 Grasshopper. Hurricane’s a-coming, or so I hear. Should be here in three-four days, if the prognostications prove accurate. Meanwhile, another nippy kind of day—although not quite as nippy as yesterday. Highs in the 70s (F). Plenty of sun, and none of yesterday’s sprinkles. Found myself chained to the ol’ desk until about mid-afternoon, when I couldn’t resist taking a spirited bike ride. I’d seen beforehand that the wind was whipping and so had steeled myself. Was a good workout. Not bad at all.
 Oak. What made it even better was the occurrence of a few extra birds: pigeons, black-backed gull, osprey. Crows along the roadsides. Chickadees, goldfinches, doves. My rear tire’s still got issues, but I made it back without having to change a tube.
And the wind was still a-whipping when Jack and I headed to Beech Hill. En route, I saw a red-tailed hawk alight atop a roadside tree.
Soon we were ascending. Goldfinch, waxwing, chickadee, crow—but I couldn’t hear much else with the rush of the wind in the thick summer foliage, and most species remain shy, so I didn’t see many. I did spot a pair of gulls sailing out toward the bay. But mostly what I saw were flying insects. A few butterflies and dragonflies, a couple bees, a grasshopper. Jack had stopped to do his business when the grasshopper jumped out and lit on a twig. I hadn’t seen one in years up there, if ever.
But you can see plenty of dragonflies these days. And butterflies (although they do seem to be declining some). And it occurred to me, suddenly, why so many of my birding friends also go winged-insect-spotting in these quieter days. They’re more visible, more apparent than birds just now. And colorful—spectacular, even, some of them. I don’t know insects well, but maybe I can learn.
 Black-capped chickadee. Returning, nearing the end of our hike, I heard more chickadees in the little roadside wood and stopped to scan. So often other species will hang out with chickadees, and sure enough I saw a little brown bird low in the brush not far from the wood-edge. Got a fairly decent look at its reddish cap and light-colored bill—a young field sparrow, I’m pretty sure.
Oddly, it was the only sparrow I saw up there today. In fact, I ended up with only six birds on my Beech Hill list today, same number as on my “Elsewhere” list. Unusual.
Heard a particularly loud cicada right before my bike ride. And just now a chorus of crickets under a starry sky. I wonder where the insects go when a hurricane blows through. I suppose they just grab onto something and cling.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American goldfinch (voice)
2. Cedar waxwing
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. American crow (voice)
5. Herring gull
6. Field sparrow
Elsewhere
7. Rock pigeon
8. House sparrow
9. Great black-backed gull
10. Osprey
11. Mourning dove
12. Red-tailed hawk
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, field sparrow, great black-backed gull, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, osprey, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon
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Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
 Savannah sparrow. I pulled on shorts and a t-shirt this morning, as I’ve done most mornings for weeks. When I took Jack out early, it seemed a bit nippy out, but with such a brilliant cloudless sky it didn’t occur to me to change into jeans. In fact, I turned on the fan to move the air around the office, then proceeded to get busy. Not until early afternoon did the prospect of a nice bike ride lure me away.
 Beech Nut. It’d warmed considerably. Maybe low-70s (F) still, but warm enough. Judging by the flags across the road, I figured I’d be heading into a south wind first thing—and sure enough the ride to town took some extra effort. I also noticed a great gray cloud looming in the west. It looked like it might be carrying a little rain. About half-way down, I heard the telltale sound of an air leak in my back tire, but the sound faded, the tire held, and I pressed on. At the post office, I realized I had to change the tube. A glass hole in the tire from a flat a couple weeks ago was apparently the weak spot. Quickly swapped out the tube and headed for the bank.
Then the grocery store for some tortillas, which I stuffed in my pack. Then headed back north up Route 1. The cloud moved over, and it began to drizzle. Very light rain, nothing to worry about. The sun shone still, in fact, for a while. But the drizzle cooled the air enough that I didn’t sweat much. Hit another post office, stopped off at Maine Sport for some fresh tubes and air cartridges and to order a new back tire.
No trouble riding home—just a sort of persistent nip in the air. I did ID plenty of birds: goldfinches, crows, ospreys (two), cardinal, doves (rock and mourning), jay. By the time I got back to my desk, it was quittin’ time.
 Grass. I changed into jeans for my Beech Hill hike with dog, as usual. I do that because of ticks—but today I appreciated the extra warmth. Breezy up there, and now with a voluptuous sky. The usual birds—plus a singer I didn’t recognize and a graceful flyer that might’ve been a shorebird, or even a nighthawk. Couldn’t be sure. And the savannah sparrow accosted us from the trailside again. (I assume it was the same bird as yesterday.) And a sudden rise of at least sixty, maybe eighty crows.
It’s getting to be that time of year.
Tonight I’ve closed most of my windows. A starry sky out there again. The faint sounds of crickets—and a solitary frog.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American crow
2. Cedar waxwing
3. American goldfinch
4. Savannah sparrow
5. Gray catbird (voice)
6. Eastern towhee (voice)
7. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
8. Mourning dove (voice)
Elsewhere
9. House sparrow
10. Herring gull
11. Rock pigeon
12. Osprey
13. Northern cardinal
14. Blue jay
 Inland hills.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, eastern towhee, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, osprey, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
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| Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson |
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