8 February 2025

Archive for September, 2016

Odd Assortment

Tuesday, September 27th, 2016
Savannah Sparrow, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 27 September 2016.

Savannah Sparrow.

On my hike with dog after the rains, I detected the whine of a sapsucker, heard the call of a distant Barred Owl, caught sight of a Pileated Woodpecker in flight approaching, watched (and listened) to a pair of larks settle into the bronze grass.

Quite an odd assortment at Beech Hill this morning.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 10:30 a.m., I hiked the open trail.

Pileated Woodpecker flyover, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 27 September 2016.

Pileated Woodpecker flyover.

1. Blue Jay
2. Song Sparrow
3. Yellow-rumped Warbler
4. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (v)
5. American Crow* (v)
6. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
7. Barred Owl (v)
8. Pileated Woodpecker
9. American Goldfinch (v)
10. Northern Flicker
11. Eastern Towhee (v)
12. Gray Catbird (v)
13. Savannah Sparrow
14. Purple Finch (v)
15. Cedar Waxwing
16. Horned Lark
17. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
18. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
19. Tufted Titmouse (v)

Elsewhere

20. Herring Gull
21. Northern Cardinal (v)

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere

 

Fall Migration

Monday, September 26th, 2016
Gray Catbird, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 26 September 2016.

Gray Catbird.

This morning at Beech Hill, on an open stretch of trail, a small twittering bird circled above my dog and me, seemingly checking us out, before fluttering away. “I think that was a Horned Lark,” I said to Jack—or something to that effect. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one solo, though. I’ll check that voice when we get home.”

Not long afterward, on the summit, I caught sight of a tight flock of little twittering birds flying swiftly south. Now, those, I thought, were larks.

But not until we ran into my expert birding friend, Evan, did I confirm that ID: he’d also seen the flock of ’em. (Thanks also to Evan’s ID skills, my list today had two more species—blackpoll and sapsucker—than it would have otherwise.) We flushed a woodcock, too.

Fall migration’s kind of a gas.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:15 a.m., I hiked the open trail.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 26 September 2016.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

1. American Robin
2. Tufted Titmouse (v)
3. Black-capped Chickadee**
4. Yellow-rumped Warbler
5. Hairy Woodpecker
6. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
7. American Crow* (v)
8. American Goldfinch
9. Blue Jay
10. Gray Catbird
11. Song Sparrow
12. Savannah Sparrow
13. Purple Finch (v)
14. Horned Lark†
15. Eastern Towhee (v)
16. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
17. Cedar Waxwing (v)
18. Eastern Phoebe
19. Blackpoll Warbler
20. Northern Flicker
21. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
22. American Woodcock

Elsewhere

23. Chipping Sparrow

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

Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 26 September 2016.

Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle.

Kettle of Vultures

Sunday, September 25th, 2016
Turkey Vulture (immature), Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 25 September 2016.

Turkey Vulture (immature, one of a kettle of seven).

Chilly morning. Kettle of vultures. More flickers. More yellow-rumps. And, finally, on the sixth day of use, I sorted out to my satisfaction the last of my new camera’s settings.

Orange, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 25 September 2016.

Orange.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 9 a.m., I hiked the open trail.

1. Blue Jay
2. Turkey Vulture
3. Eastern Towhee (v)
4. Gray Catbird (v)
5. Northern Flicker
6. Yellow-rumped Warbler
7. American Goldfinch (v)
8. Song Sparrow (v)
9. Black-capped Chickadee**
10. Eastern Phoebe (v)
11. Red-eyed Vireo (v)
12. American Crow*

Elsewhere

13. Herring Gull

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

 

 
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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