Sometime overnight the clouds dispersed, making this last summer day a sunny one. Also chilly, but in a good way. Rather quiet overall—but one of the first bird species to appear provided some early excitement.
A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, tearing into a birch near the trailhead. They were excavating the heck out of that thing. And they had a couple exciting interactions, when the dominant bird chased the other around the tree a few times until it flew off to a new trunk nearby.
Three other woodpecker species, a couple of corvids, and a bunch of the usual suspects rounded out my last-day-of-summer list.
Bring it on, sweet autumn!
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:38 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay 2. Black-capped Chickadee** 3. Pileated Woodpecker 4. American Crow* 5. Hairy Woodpecker 6. Gray Catbird 7. American Robin 8. Northern Flicker 9. Cedar Waxwing 10. American Goldfinch 11. Yellow-rumped Warbler 12. Purple Finch (v) 13. Eastern Towhee (v) 14. Common Yellowthroat (v) 15. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 16. Song Sparrow 17. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
Elsewhere
18. Rock Pigeon 19. Herring Gull 20. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk Eastern Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
It rained most of last night, and the day dawned wet and drippy. The overcast lasted all day, but my morning hike with dog was all sweet, watery drippiness. Quiet, though, with few birds flitting around in the greenery.
Until (as yesterday) we reached a spot on the wooded trail where chickadees were chatting at each other. Sure enough, several species of small birds were accompanying the chickadees—vireo, warblers, a wood-pewee….
Also spied a Swainson’s Thrush again, perhaps the same individual as yesterday. I listened as it repeatedly uttered a sweet short note I’d never heard before.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:03 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. American Crow 3. Ovenbird 4. Northern Flicker 5. Gray Catbird 6. Eastern Towhee (v) 7. Song Sparrow 8. Common Yellowthroat (v) 9. Swainson’s Thrush 10. Yellow-rumped Warbler 11. Cedar Waxwing (v) 12. Black-capped Chickadee 13. Black-throated Green Warbler 14. Black-and-white Warbler 15. Tufted Titmouse (v) 16. Red-eyed Vireo 17. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 18. White-throated Sparrow 19. American Goldfinch
Elsewhere
20. Mallard
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel Eastern Chipmunk
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Rained overnight, and this morning when the sun rose, the woods were damp and drippy. Awful quiet, but birds were lurking and skulking and flitting—mostly just out of sight. A few revealed themselves, though: flickers, robins, a lone Swainson’s Thrush; calling raven and jays and goldfinches; a flushed grouse.
Even quieter on our way back down the lower wooded trail, until just a few hundred yards from the trailhead, when chickadees piped up, and a glance into the damp foliage exposed a wave of little birds—warblers, creepers, a wood-pewee.
I’m a big fan of this time of year—a time you might call summer’s last gasp.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Common Raven (v) 2. Blue Jay** 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Northern Flicker 5. Yellow-rumped Warbler 6. Gray Catbird 7. Eastern Towhee 8. Swainson’s Thrush 9. American Robin* 10. Red-eyed Vireo 11. American Goldfinch** 12. Ruffed Grouse 13. American Crow* 14. Common Yellowthroat 15. Cedar Waxwing 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 17. Song Sparrow 18. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 19. Savannah Sparrow 20. White-throated Sparrow 21. Downy Woodpecker (v) 22. Brown Creeper 23. Black-and-white Warbler 24. Chestnut-sided Warbler 25. Black-throated Green Warbler 26. Eastern Wood-pewee
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel Eastern Chipmunk
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
