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Archive for August, 2014
Sunday, August 31st, 2014
 Gray Catbird (juvie). Busy day of work and play. Mostly work—desk work, a little carpentry—but in mid-afternoon, I took a break with Jack.
 Black Swallowtail. Beech Hill was hazy and muggy and warm. Plenty of people walking up and down. Quite a few birds lurking in the undergrowth, too—including young White-throated Sparrows, Gray Catbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warblers (on the move). Dragonflies sweeping back and forth in elongated rectangular paths along the trail. Assorted butterflies.
Just as I was finishing my carpentry project, it began to rain a little, so I went to replace a broken outdoor lightbulb and was just about to reach in its cylindrical hole when I happened to notice a honeycomb pattern in the dark interior. Wasp nest(s). I decided to put that off for another day.
Tonight it’s raining pretty steadily. Tomorrow is the first day of September.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American Goldfinch** (v)
2. Blue Jay**
3. Tufted Titmouse (v)
4. Cedar Waxwing**
5. Gray Catbird
6. Common Yellowthroat
7. American Crow*
8. Eastern Towhee (v)
9. White-throated Sparrow
10. Song Sparrow
11. Yellow-rumped Warbler
12. Northern Flicker (v)
13. Black-capped Chickadee
14. Eastern Phoebe
Elsewhere
15. Herring Gull
16. Red-eyed Vireo (v)
17. Laughing Gull
18. Great Blue Heron
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, gray catbird, great blue heron, herring gull, laughing gull, northern flicker, red-eyed vireo, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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Saturday, August 30th, 2014
 Eastern Towhee (female). The birds of Beech Hill were shy today. Hell, all the birds were shy. At my place early, I heard a young bird calling for food, stood until I spotted the thing, and it was a juvenile Red-eyed Vireo. And the same thing happend on the hill.
Song sparrows were diving into thick bushes. Catbirds were flitting out of sight. Yellow-rumped warblers were still active in the spruce grove at the summit—I could hear their incessant chip notes—but I caught only brief glimpses of them. Waxwings were zipping around overhead, as usual.
It was a cool and nervous day. I liked it a lot.
Addendum: I did not see a monarch today for the first time in a few. (Yesterday I saw one at Beech Hill fluttering in the distance, and the day before I saw a dead one while cycling the shoulder of Route 1.)
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Cedar Waxwing
2. Blue Jay**
3. Song Sparrow
4. Red-eyed Vireo*
5. American Crow* (v)
6. American Goldfinch (v)
7. Gray Catbird
8. Yell0w-rumped Warbler
9. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
10. Eastern Towhee
Elsewhere
11. Herring Gull
12. Black-and-white Warbler (v)
13. Northern Cardinal (v)
14. House Sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, eastern towhee, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, northern cardinal, red-eyed vireo, song sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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Friday, August 29th, 2014
 Yellow-rumped Warbler. Busy Friday. Sunny but kind of chilly. Not as windy as yesterday. Yellow-rumps at the summit again. It’s happening. Early migration. The first few nervous birds are fluttering, moving, heading in a more or less southern direction.
 Yellow-rumped Warbler. But tonight, I closed all the windows.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Cedar Waxwing**
2. American Goldfinch
3. Song Sparrow
4. Common Yellowthroat (v)
5. Eastern Towhee (v)
6. Eastern Phoebe
7. Common Raven (v)
8. Gray Catbird (v)
9. Yellow-rumped Warbler
10. Tufted Titmouse**
11. Blue Jay**
12. Downy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
13. American Crow
14. Laughing Gull
15. Herring Gull
16. Rock Pigeon
17. Mourning Dove
18. Black-capped Chickadee
19. Broad-winged Hawk
20. Double-crested Cormorant
v = Voice only
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, Cedar waxwing, common raveng, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, herring gull, laughing gull, mourning dove, ray catbird, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, 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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