9 February 2025

Archive for April, 2013

Carolina wren

Saturday, April 27th, 2013
Carolina wren, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 27 April 2013.

Carolina wren.

Got up early. Hiked all over Beech Hill with dog. Got back home at 9:15 a.m., two and a half hours later. There was a lot to see and hear up there this morning—including a Carolina wren.

American kestrel, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 27 April 2013.

American kestrel.

The little bird with the big voice was first Carolina wren I’d ever seen at Beech Hill. In fact, it’s only the second Carolina wren I’ve seen in Rockport. In fact, other than those two, the only Carolina wrens I’ve seen (or heard) in Maine were in the Monhegan Island population. Thryothorus ludovicianus doesn’t even appear on the Beech Hill bird list.

Anyway, that was the highlight of the hike. But I also saw my first blue-headed vireo of the year. We also ran into my birder friend Ed and his new dog, a long-distance rescue (from Chile). Ended up with thirty-two species—until this afternoon, toward the end of a thirty-mile bike ride, when I was zipping along South Street and looked up to see a broad-winged hawk circling the barrens.

Still thinking of that loud little wren.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.

1. American robin*
2. American goldfinch**
3. American crow*
4. Eastern phoebe*
5. Black-capped chickadee*
6. Herring gull*
7. Hermit thrush (v)
8. House finch** (v)
9. Tufted titmouse** (v)
10. Eastern towhee
11. Northern flicker (v)
12. Blue-headed vireo
13. Yellow-rumped warbler
14. American kestrel
15. Dark-eyed junco
16. Blue jay** (v)
17. Song sparrow**
18. Savannah sparrow
19. Field sparrow
20. Pileated woodpecker* (v)
21. Northern cardinal** (v)
22. Tree swallow (v)
23. Great blue heron
24. Brown-headed cowbird**
25. Ruby-crowned kinglet
26. Downy woodpecker (v)
27. White-throated sparrow (v)
28. Mourning dove*
29. Carolina wren†‡
30. Common raven
31. Golden-crowned kinglet (v)
32. Wild turkey (v)
33. Hairy woodpecker** (v)
34. Broad-winged hawk

Elsewhere

35. European starling
36. Turkey vulture
37. Rock pigeon
38. Canada goose

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
‡First-of-hill bird

Savannah sparrow, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 27 April 2013.

Savannah sparrow.

Towhee Hill

Friday, April 26th, 2013
Eastern towhee, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 26 April 2013.

Eastern towhee.

The towhees are settling in at Beech Hill, singing variations of Drink your teaaaa! all up and down the trails. I’m pretty sure the hill has more towhees on it than beech trees these days.

Savannah sparrow, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 26 April 2013.

Savannah sparrow.

Other species continue to arrive. Kestrels were still perching on little trees and trail posts and weed stalks when Jack and I moved through early this a.m.—saw at least three again today. A house finch called from the spruce grove at the summit. A turkey vulture flew over. Heard four sparrow species singing—well, five, if you count the towhees.

Nippy still, breezy. Took a short (five-mile) bike ride in the sun this afternoon.

Now, here, tonight, I can still hear towhees singing from the budding berry brambles of my mind.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.

1. American robin**
2. Eastern phoebe**
3. American crow*
4. American goldfinch (v)
5. Black-capped chickadee**
6. Eastern towhee
7. Yellow-rumped warbler
8. American kestrel
9. House finch**
10. Turkey vulture
11. Golden-crowned kinglet
12. Song sparrow**
13. Savannah sparrow
14. Northern flicker (v)
15. Field sparrow (v)
16. White-throated sparrow (v)
17. Herring gull*
18. Northern cardinal** (v)
19. Tufted titmouse (v)
20. Downy woodpecker (v)
21. Brown-headed cowbird†
22. Tree swallow

Elsewhere

23. Mourning dove
24. Rock pigeon

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird

Warm air

Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Yellow-rumped warbler, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 25 April 2013.

Yellow-rumped warbler.

Gray and damp early, but then the clouds blew away and the air warmed up. Ah, finally—a warm spring day.

Worked until mid-afternoon, then cycled around for about an hour, hearing (and seeing) several birds, including a first-of-year chippie. Great, great ride. Soon after my return, I grabbed Jack and we hiked up the wooded Beech Hill trail.

Osprey, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 25 April 2013.

Osprey.

Not a load of birds, what with the warmth and brightness of afternoon. But I did still see the thrushes, the yellow-rumps, and the kestrels. At least three kestrels again today, and I saw one hover, dive, and snatch something. A vole, I expect. It took its meal over to an exposed rock and began tearing into it, all the while keeping an eye on me and Jack, watching from maybe fifty yards away.

Then three ospreys flew over—the first so near that I had trouble focusing my camera on it. One had a couple-three tail feathers missing. As I was watching the ospreys whirl and cry, I spotted another raptor zipping low over the summit, very near Beech Nut. It disappeared behind the hill, then emerged and rose and circled. And I saw a second with it. They were northbound broad-wings, I’m pretty sure, judging by the stripes on their tails.

Tonight the full moon rose yellow and round.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked all trails.

1. Hairy woodpecker (hammering)
2. Eastern phoebe**
3. American crow*
4. Herring gull* (v)
5. Yellow-rumped warbler
6. Black-capped chickadee**
7. Mourning dove*
8. Eastern towhee (v)
9. Turkey vulture
10. American kestrel
11. Osprey
12. Broad-winged hawk
13. Northern cardinal** (v)
14. Hermit thrush (v)
15. American robin*

Elsewhere

16. House finch (v)
17. European starling (v)
18. Song sparrow (v)
19. Tufted titmouse (v)
20. Chipping sparrow† (v)

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird

 
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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