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Archive for April, 2014
Sunday, April 27th, 2014
 Black-capped Chickadee. Cold rain this morning. And that’s about all I’ve got to say about that.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. Northern Flicker (v)
3. American Crow*
4. American Robin
5. Eastern Towhee
6. American Goldfinch (v)
7. Mourning Dove*
8. Northern Cardinal* (v)
9. Herring Gull*
10. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
11. Yellow-rumped Warbler
12. Song Sparrow**
13. Savannah Sparrow
14. Brown-headed Cowbird
15. House Finch (v)
16. Chipping Sparrow (v)
17.Blue Jay (v)
18. Ruffed Grouse (drumming)
19. Eastern Phoebe
20. Hermit Thrush
21. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
22. Tufted Titmouse (v)
Elsewhere
23. Downy Woodpecker (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Saturday, April 26th, 2014
 Eastern Towhee. There’s no question that the most abundant bird species at Beech Hill Preserve—at least at this time of year—is the Eastern Towhee. Or maybe they’re just the most vocal right about now. All over the hill, along every trail, you’re admonished to Drink your tea!
What interests me is how varied a towhee’s call is. Most utter some kind of trill as the last of the three syllables, but the song of one I’ve heard up there ends with a high, thin Squee! And another bird—it’s settled in the same area for the past few years—offers up no trills at all, just three ringing chimes. On at least two days, I’ve heard a towhee whose last syllable sounds exactly like a goldfinch trill. (No, seriously, exactly.) Then again, often one of these birds will simply sing the first two syllables, skipping the third altogether. And an individual will have more than one style of call, which confuses things even more. A couple times I’ve chased after some crazy, unfamiliar song to find it belonged to a towhee.
Interesting also is just which birds are singing at this time of year. Towhees, of course, on this chilly overcast morning. And Song Sparrows. A few chickadees. The Chipping Sparrow down by the road. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are still singing (they seem plentiful in migration this year), and a few of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that are moving through. Savannah Sparrows have just begun to sing some, but they’ll remain a little skittish until the grass greens up and thickens.
It was a pretty birdy morning for being so plain and gray. Heard a loon and a Red-bellied Woodpecker and saw a Palm Warbler. Jack and I ran into my birder friend Ed and his dog.
But at the end of it all, as we drove away, still ringing in my ears… Drink your tea! Drink your tea-a-a-a!
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee*
2. Tufted Titmouse (v)
3. Eastern Towhee
4. American Robin*
5. Northern Flicker (v)
6. American Goldfinch (v)
7. Herring Gull*
8. American Crow*
9. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
10. White-throated Sparrow (v)
11. Yellow-rumped Warbler
12. Song Sparrow**
13. Hermit Thrush
14. Brown-headed Cowbird
15. Eastern Phoebe
16. Savannah Sparrow
17. Northern Cardinal* (v)
18. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
19. House Finch (v)
20. Blue Jay (v)
21. Chipping Sparrow (v)
22. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
23. Mourning Dove*
24. Common Loon (v)
25. Palm Warbler
26. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
27. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
28. Mallard*
Elsewhere
29. Wild Turkey
30. European Starling
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, common loon, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, palm warbler, pileated woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
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Friday, April 25th, 2014
 Yellow-rumped Warbler. Earliest morning this spring so far, I’m pretty sure. Nearly cloudless but nippy, with a little frost here and there. Within a hundred yards of the trailhead, I’d counted a dozen species—including a fast-moving Brown Creeper (heard one singing later on). We flushed a partridge, Jack and me.
Coming up into the open fields, sure enough, there sat a sparrow hawk on an upper twig, surveying the grass. Out of nowhere, a large winged shape appeared, and I watched too stunned to raise my camera as a good-sized Cooper’s Hawk approached us not very far off the ground. The kestrel scrammed, and the Cooper’s cruised lazily overheard. First one of those I’ve seen this year
 Hermit Thrush. Lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets still, and more yellow-rumps than yesterday.
Up at the summit, we caught the brunt of a westerly wind. Somewhere in that wind, I heard the song of a Field Sparrow—another FOY bird. The Savannah’s are laying low, still, but singing. Still a bunch of cowbirds. A pair of mallards zipped overhead.
Returning down through the lower woods, we encountered a large dead pine that had fallen in (I assume) yesterday’s high wind. It fell on a curve, completely blocking the trail. Just beyond the pine, I heard the distinctive distant drumming of a sapsucker. It had found a loud tree. Within a few moments, another woodpecker began to drum from another direction—not a sapsucker, though. (a Hairy Woodpecker, I’m pretty sure.)
Four woodpeckers, five sparrows, a couple thrushes, one warbler. Within a week or so, there’ll be more warblers, catbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, another thrush species or two.
An exciting time of year.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse (v)
2. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3. House Finch** (v)
4. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
5. Eastern Phoebe
6. Blue Jay (v)
7. Hermit Thrush**
8. Northern Flicker*
9. Brown Creeper
10. Black-capped Chickadee**
11. American Crow*
12. Eastern Towhee
13. American Goldfinch (v)
14. Ruffed Grouse
15. Brown-headed Cowbird**
16. Yellow-rumped Warbler
17. American Robin*
18. Northern Cardina (v)
19. American Kestrel
20. Cooper’s Hawk†
21. Herring Gull*
22. Field Sparrow† (v)
23. Savannah Sparrow
24. Chipping Sparrow (v)
25. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
26. White-throated Sparrow (v)
27. Osprey (v)
28. Mallard
29. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (drumming)
30. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
31. Mourning Dove* (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, cooper's hawk, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, pileated woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-bellied sapsucker, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in 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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