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Archive for June, 2012
Sunday, June 24th, 2012
 Cedar waxwings. I haven’t really kept good track of exactly what’s going on with exactly which bird species during this busy ol’ early summer season. Oh, I’ve offered a few guesses, sure—written a few ephemeral opinions, waxed poetic. But some antic flocks of Beech Hill waxwings today really got me thinking.
 Chestnut-sided warbler. And what a lovely day! Warm, but not too warm. Breezy, but not too breezy. Plenty of clouds—but what amazing clouds. Jack and I didn’t get out early, but we couldn’t delay our daily hike beyond midday. I was surprised to find no vehicles in the parking lot when we turned in. I was even a little surprised to hear so much birdsong right away, considering it was high noon. The greenery rang with the calls of all the usual suspects, including those that’d been quiet lately. Catbirds were singing especially loudly from perches here and there.
The very same chestnut-sided warbler as yesterday again accosted us as we slowed on the trail near its nest. It held a few small green caterpillars in its beak, flitting from twig to twig. Soon after, we spooked a mourning dove.
Then as we arrived at the upper fields, the waxwings caught my attention. Small flocks, maybe a half-dozen each, perching briefly in trees or low bushes before all taking off at once and circling together in the sun. I must’ve counted a dozen of these flocks, all behaving the same way. When we crept near one of them on the open trail and I got a look at some young-looking birds, it occurred to me these were families all flying around together. The juveniles must’ve fledged and flown when I began seeing them a few days ago, and now they were learning the ropes.
 Savannah sparrow. So now I’ve made a mental note: the first week of summer, the last week in June, be on the lookout for waxwings.
Chestnut-sideds may still be feeding nestlings—as are the yellowthroats and phoebes—but I bet their nests are about to go empty. Towhees’ already have, I know. As have house finches’. And returning through a berry bramble, I got a look at what I think was a fledging veery, so thrushes must not be far behind.
We met many hikers and dogs today. I had a few nice conversations. But my preoccupation was nests and fledglings. I’ll keep better track next year.
In afternoon, I went out cycling. Had a nice, long, fast bike ride. At one point I saw four vultures circling. A reminder—carpe diem.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 12 p.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo* (v)
2. Ovenbird (v)
3. Veery
4. Chestnut-sided warbler*
5. Common yellowthroat*
6. Gray catbird*
7. American redstart*
8. Mourning dove*
9. Cedar waxwing*
10. Black-capped chickadee (v)
11. American crow* (v)
12. Yellow warbler* (v)
13. Song sparrow*
14. Hairy woodpecker (v)
15. Hermit thrush* (v)
16. Eastern towhee
17. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
18. American robin* (v)
19. Common raven (v)
20. Eastern phoebe
21. Savannah sparrow
22. Herring gull*
23. Field sparrow
24. Black-and-white warbler (v)
25. House finch*
26. Black-throated green warbler* (v)
27. Alder flycatcher (v)
28. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
29. American goldfinch*
30. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
31. Black-throated blue warbler (v)
Elsewhere
32. Northern cardinal (v)
33. House sparrow (v)
34. Turkey vulture
35. Chipping sparrow (v)
36. Tufted titmouse (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
 The inland hills.
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, field sparrow, gray catbird, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler
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Saturday, June 23rd, 2012
 Chestnut-sided warbler. Most of us hurry through our daily lives—work, chores, play. We make appointments then make urgent haste to keep them, running red lights rather than waiting thirty seconds. We complain to our neighbors, we gab on cell phones, we curse and whoop and laugh out loud. Heck, I’m guilty of being in a rush sometimes: I like to race around on a bicycle, going as fast as I can.
 Savannah sparrow. But I also make time for a walk in the woods, where often I simply stand still.
Today was cool and cloudy, with a nervousness in the air. Fog descended, and a little rain, and late a thundershower. I did some errands, took a quick trip to town, rushing from here to there. Finally it came time for a hike with dog. Considering the fog and damp and chance of thunder, we met no one else on the trail. No shouts of humans or barks of dogs. Just the chips and calls of birds. And even the birds seemed nervous—I heard the wacky, jumbled alarm-type songs of both an ovenbird and a yellowthroat soon after we hit the Beech Hill trail.
And they weren’t so secretive today: I saw veeries and a catbird, towhees and a redstart, and at the foggy summit phoebe, Savannah sparrow, and waxwings. At one point on the wooded trail, in fact, I heard a veery singing very near, so we stopped to see if I could sneak a photo. The veery caught on quickly, apparently, because it stopped singing right away—and suddenly we were surrounded by chestnut-sided warblers. Well, a pair of them, one on either side, chipping and flitting in the scrubby trees close by. (We must’ve stopped near their nest.) It made for a nice photo op on a day when I didn’t really expect one.
At times like that I think of Thoreau, who simply “wished to live deliberately.” Just standing quietly out in the woods brings some of the best rewards.
 Jack in the woods. The same thing happened with chickadees, too, when we’d stopped just to listen to the hillside. And, at the wood-edge, with towhees. And at the open summit, with the Savannah sparrow.
So you don’t really have to be in the woods—just somewhere wild and lonely.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:30 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Veery
3. Ovenbird* (v)
4. Common yellowthroat* (v)
5. Red-eyed vireo (v)
6. Chestnut-sided warbler
7. Gray catbird*
8. American redstart*
9. Eastern towhee
10. American crow*
11. Northern flicker (v)
12. Yellow warbler* (v)
13. Song sparrow* (v)
14. Cedar Waxwing
15. Hermit thrush (v)
16. Eastern phoebe
17. Savannah sparrow
18. Field sparrow (v)
19. American robin*
20. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
21. Hairy woodpecker (drumming)
Elsewhere
22. House finch
23. Northern cardinal (v)
24. Herring gull
25. Mourning dove
26. Rock pigeon
27. Northern mockingbird
28. Tufted titmouse (v)
Tags: American crow, American redstart, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, gray catbird, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern mockingbird, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, veery, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler
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Friday, June 22nd, 2012
 Chestnut-sided warbler. I was still in bed when I heard distant thunder. As I was making breakfast, a big isolated storm blew swiftly through—but most of it passed just to the north and south of here. A little thunder, a little rain. Within an hour or so, the summer sun angled brightly down on a wet, green landscape, and birds came out to sing.
 Song sparrow. Among them, a black-and-white warbler and a redstart. The redstart, in fact, hung around my place all day.
But I spent much of it inside, scrambling to get a few things done before dashing off for a quick bike ride. I’d checked the weather radar first, and another thundershower appeared headed this way, but there was time. If I hurried. So I hurried. Was nice. Cooler than the past couple days. Not a lot of wind. Felt like flying.
Not long after my return, a great, high haze obscured the western sky, turning things dim and spooky. Jack and I took off for a quick hike. Beech Hill seemed dark and eerily still. As we climbed I heard distant thunder away to the north. But birds were singing still—warblers, a hairy woodpecker (first woodpecker in a while), thrushes. At the summit, I spent a while admiring an interesting sky: an arc of blue to the east, and a high, yellow-gray haze covering the rest of it. Song sparrows, towhees, phoebes, and yellowthroats up there, but for the first time in many days I neither saw nor heard a Savannah sparrow. I wonder if the youngsters have fledged.
Within a half-hour after our return home, the sky had cleared again, the setting sun flooded the world with light, and the redstart sang in the little grove of poplars just out back.
 Beech Nut. And tonight, sure enough, another thunderstorm blew through, as forecast. Nature’s washing machine.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:45 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American robin* (v)
2. Veery (v)
3. Chestnut-sided warbler*
4. Ovenbird* (v)
5. Red-eyed vireo* (v)
6. Common yellowthroat*
7. Black-capped chickadee
8. Black-and-white warbler* (v)
9. Eastern towhee
10. Mourning dove
11. Hairy woodpecker (v)
12. Yellow warbler* (v)
13. Cedar waxwing*
14. Northern cardinal*
15. American crow*
16. Alder flycatcher (v)
17. Song sparrow*
18. Red-tailed hawk
19. Eastern phoebe
20. American goldfinch* (v)
21. Hermit thrush* (v)
22. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
23. American redstart* (v)
Elsewhere
24. House finch (v)
25. Herring gull
26. European starling
27. Blue jay (v)
28. House sparrow
29. Rock pigeon
30. Mallard
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, European starling, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, song sparrow, veery, yellow warbler
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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