Ovenbird.
It seemed like an ordinary early morning spring hike up Beech Hill. The now-familiar singing warblers, vireo, towhee, catbird, chickadee, veery. Heard an osprey’s cry. Ovenbirds seemed especially active—I watched more than one ovenbird chase, in fact, as the species sang from neighboring snags all across the wooded hillsides.
Black-and-white warbler.
At the upper fields, as we’d stopped so I could photograph a singing black-and-white warbler—just perching for a change, not flitting and pecking at trunks—I noticed movement on the trail ahead of us. A gray squirrel had hopped a around the corner between the walls of tall grass and was headed our way. When it got about ten feet from us, it abruptly turned around and hopped back around the corner. Jack, who was snapping at black flies, didn’t even see the squirrel.
Weird.
We continued on, and I caught sight of one of the pair of veeries that’ve taken up residence in the little wooded stretch beneath the summit. Chestnut-sided warblers and yellowthroats and ovenbirds calling. I heard field sparrows and song sparrows and savannah sparrows. Just before we headed down the open trail, Jack heard nature calling, and I bagged up the results and left the bright yell0w poop-bag at the trail edge just beyond the new stone bench. Down along the fields I saw an alder flycatcher and a bluebirds and eight cedar waxwings. We met a fellow hiker coming up, a nice fellow we’ve met before. Heard the wood thrush for the third straight day. Also the cowbird.
Returning, a turkey vulture flew over us kind of low. Saw another bluebird wing away and thought how nice the little birches are at this time of year, since birds seem to like to stop there as we pass. We met our fellow hiker coming down. He said he’d heard the next two or three days will bring rain.
Cedar waxwing.
Then we reached the place where I’d left Jack’s poop bag. It wasn’t there. I backtracked a ways in case my memory had failed me, but no—no bright yellow bag anywhere. I thought back and didn’t recall seeing the other hiker carrying the bag. In fact, I felt sure he didn’t have it, because I did notice he carried a cup coffee in one hand, and I’d certainly notice if both his hands were occupied. Had he found the bag and hidden it somehow? Pitched it off into the grass? I searched Beech Nut, just in case. Nothing. Had some other hiker come up the wooded trail behind us and carried the bag back down?
Too weird.
I spent the rest of our hike in a distracted frame of mind—but not too distracted to fail to hear the black-throated blue warbler, or the scarlet tanager, or the eastern wood-pewee.
Addendum: Barred owl calling out there tonight. Weeeeird.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird*
2. Common yellowthroat*
3. Osprey* (v)
4. Red-eyed vireo
5. Tufted titmouse* (v)
6. Chestnut-sided warbler*
7. Black-throated green warbler*
8. American goldfinch*
9. Eastern phoebe*
10. American crow*
11. Veery
12. American robin*
13. Blue jay
14. Black-capped chickadee*
15. American redstart*
16. Mourning dove*
17. Eastern towhee
18. Gray catbird*
19. Alder flycatcher
20. Yellow warbler
21. Black-and-white warbler
22. Song sparrow*
23. Ruby-throated hummingbird (v)
24. Field Sparrow
25. Savannah sparrow
26. Eastern bluebird
27. Cedar waxwing*
28. Nashville warbler (v)
29. Wood thrush (v)
30. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
31. Brown-headed cowbird
32. Turkey vulture
33. Black-throated blue warbler (v)
34. Scarlet tanager (v)
35. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
Elsewhere
36. House finch (v)
37. Herring gull
38. Laughing gull
39. Mallard
40. Northern cardinal (v)
41. Rock pigeon
42. Chipping sparrow (v)
43. Barred owl (v)
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, barred owl, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, field sparrow, gray catbird, herring gull, house finch, laughing gull, mallard, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, osprey, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-throated hummingbird, savannah sparrow, scarlet tanager, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, wood thrush, yellow warbler
