American robin.

Stayed up late last night listening to the wind howl. No trees toppled over or lost limbs, and when the howl seemed to diminish a bit in the wee hours, I decided to head for my bed beneath the gigantic oak tree and take my chances. Woke up again this morning, as usual.

Birches.

Still a little windy, but not bad. A little rainy, too. Also not bad. Followed a bit of news about what Superstorm Sandy left in her wake, then worked a while. The rain let up for a while, and then a line of thundershowers blew through. Checked the weather radar and saw what looked like a rain-free patch approaching, so Jack and I lit out for Beech Hill.

No other hikers today. No surprise. Pretty thick fog on the hill. Cleared a couple small branches off the trail. Heard the voices of a few birds. It was impressively calm after last night’s big blow—which, by the way, removed a lot of leaves from the local trees.

About half way up, exactly where we surprised them yesterday, a pair of robins fluttered out of a trailside bush. I noticed the bush had a bunch of red berries. No wonder. The robins turned out to be the only birds I actually got a look at up there.

Then rain began to fall out of the fog—a pretty heavy burst of it. Dog and I began to lope along, which was fun. The rain stopped after maybe a minute, but it was enough to soak the front of me.

Did I mention how mild it was? Really mild—upper-50s (F), I’d guess. And it’s not supposed to get cold for a while yet. Weird.

Into the fog.

I like weird.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2 p.m., I hiked the open trail.

1. Black-capped chickadee** (v)
2. Tufted titmouse (v)
3. American crow* (v)
4. American goldfinch (v)
5. Yellow-rumped warbler (v)
6. American robin
7. Blue jay (v)
8. Golden-crowned kinglet (v)

Elsewhere

9. Herring gull

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere