Northern shrike.
A little rain early, then overcast. Just a breath of wind. Got out to do a little pre-storm stocking up, and somehow ended up at Beech Hill with my dog.
Yellow-rumped warbler.
A bunch of little kids were there for an apparently very fun excursion. Jack and I snuck up before them. Right away, I heard chickadees, a woodpecker, kinglets, and more. A small flock of white-throated sparrows was flitting about in the tangles, and a titmouse appeared out of nowhere, nibbling on some wild tree seed. Heard crows and jays and yellow-rumped warblers. Quite a few ‘rumps up there today, in fact.
Robin, flicker. We headed over the summit a ways and I discovered the top section of wooded trail had been rerouted—to avoid a notorious mudhole, I expect. The new stretch is curvy, steep, and alluring. More yellow-rumps down along the field.
Returning, I spied a lone songbird high in one of the trailside birches. It looked different from the usual suspects, so I trained my binocs on it: a northern shrike. Tried to sneak up for a photo, but it flew. Lucky for me, it flew slightly nearer—but still no awesome photo. I heard the shrike’s shrill call as it flew away.
By the time we got home a few minutes later, the sky had mostly cleared, and we had ourselves another unseasonably warm afternoon.
Birch.
Tonight is cloudless, with a nervous breeze. Hm….
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped chickadee**
2. Hairy woodpecker
3. White-throated sparrow
4. Golden-crowned kinglet (v)
5. Tufted titmouse
6. American crow*
7. Yellow-rumped warbler
8. Blue jay* (v)
9. American robin* (v)
10. Northern flicker (v)
11. Northern shrike
Elsewhere
12. Red-tailed hawk
13. Herring gull
14. Rock pigeon
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
