Red-breasted nuthatch.

Had an unexpected encounter on my slow Beech Hill hike with Jack this afternoon. Just as we reached the summit, I spied a couple of small birds flitting about in the little spruce grove up there. They turned out to be red-breasted nuthatches. It’s not the first time I’ve seen them in the summit spruce grove—maybe the third or fourth time—but they’re nowhere near as common on the hill as their white-breasted cousins.

American redstart.

It was the second nice surprise of our hike, in fact. Very quiet up there. Did not see or hear many birds at all coming up—although I did hear my first brown creeper in quite a while—and one faintly rapping woodpecker managed to elude my eyes for about five minutes. But at the upper loop junction, I doubled my list total in about one minute. Heard the note of a white-throated sparrow. Spotted a couple of silent-yet-active warblers (only getting a look at a redstart). Heard a wood-pewee down in the trees. Heard a robin down there, too. Got chipped at by a yellowthroat.

By the time we returned, I’d added five more species—including red-breasted nuthatch.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:15 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.

1. American goldfinch (v)
2. Black-capped chickadee* (v)
3. Brown creeper (v)
4. Gray catbird (v)
5. Cedar waxwing (v)
6. White-throated sparrow (v)
7. American redstart
8. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
9. American robin (v)
10. Common yellowthroat
11. Eastern towhee (v)
12. Herring gull
13. Red-breasted nuthatch
14. American crow*
15. Song sparrow (v)

Elsewhere

16. Laughing gull
17. House sparrow
18. Ring-billed gull
19. Northern cardinal (v)

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere