Black-and-white warbler (with spider).
Slept in this morning on account of it rained. I.e., I’d have to plan a hike with dog for later in the day.
Veery.
Which I did in early afternoon, during a lull in the showers. Gray sky, plenty of mosquitos, plenty of warblers bouncing about in the trees despite the odd hours. Watched a pair of black-and-whites chase for a minute, then watched a pair of flashing redstarts chase for quite a bit longer than that. They flutter their tailfeathers and flit after each other, around and around, not going very fast—unlike some ovenbird chases I’ve watched. (Ovenbirds can get surprisingly noisy, even nasty, from what I’ve seen.) Males contesting over the affection of females. Love in the soggy air.
While watching the redstarts, I saw a large bird approach above the trees. It was an osprey. It was carrying a pretty large stick.
On up toward the summit, the sun seemed about ready to emerge—oddly, about the same time it began to mist and drizzle again. Then fog started rolling in from the bay. Thrushes like fog: wood thrush, veery, robin.
At Beech Nut, we snuck up on a pair of teenagers making out. (Perfect spot for it.) I looked out at the bay as we quietly passed, pretending not to notice. The open fields had plenty of sparrows in them. I heard and saw song sparrows, field sparrows, and chipping sparrows, but savannah sparrows were laying low. A cluster of waxwings flew over like a team of miniature squeaky brakes.
Red-eyed vireo.
Twice on the trail we surprised small ribbon snakes, which move remarkably fast. In the lower wooded trail, as I have each of the past few days, I found the tracks of deer on the muddy path. A hermit thrush serenaded us from the middle distance, its fluting sent ghostly echoes in the fog beyond the dripping trees.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 1:45 p.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird
2. Common yellowthroat
3. Osprey
4. Red-eyed vireo
5. American crow* (v)
6. Black-throated green warbler* (v)
7. Chestnut-sided warbler* (v)
8. Veery
9. American redstart*
10. Black-and-white warbler
11. American robin*
12. Eastern towhee
13. Gray catbird (v)
14. American goldfinch
15. Tufted titmouse (v)
16. Song sparrow*
17. Yellow warbler
18. Tree swallow
19. Field sparrow
20. Eastern phoebe
21. Alder flycatcher (v)
22. Wood thrush (v)
23. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
24. Cedar waxwing
25. Chipping sparrow
26. Mourning dove (v)
27. Blue jay (v)
28. Hermit thrush (v)
Elsewhere
29. House finch
30. Herring gull
31. Northern cardinal (v)
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, osprey, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, rose-breasted grosbeak, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, veery, wood thrush, yellow warbler
