Black-capped chickadee.
A scorchah! Fitting for the summer solstice—and the perfect afternoon for a nice, long, hot, sweaty bicycle ride. I’d thought I might mow the lawn afterward, since thunderstorms are forecast, but after my Beech Hill hike with Jack I didn’t feel like it. So there.
Cedar waxwing.
The hike itself was warm, with mosquitoes buzzing around. Lots of flying insects, in fact. (I thought I might’ve heard a deerfly, even, but not sure.) And birds were calling from the fringes. Including a couple of black-throated green warblers—which, in my experience, begin singing their late-season song again in summer and continue through the season.
About half way up the hill, I heard a commotion and spotted a streaky young towhee flitting off into the berry brambles. A fledgling! Not very much farther along, I heard the raspy call of a young chickadee and caught sight of a couple youngsters fluttering along after at least one parent. The yellowthroat is still tending to its nest up by the little boardwalk beneath the summit, and a yellow warbler is calling softly but keeping well hidden up there. I think I might’ve heard the plaintive calls of its nestlings.
A young family was hanging out at Beech Nut. So were savannah sparrows (heard, didn’t see) and a diffuse flock of waxwings. I wonder if some of these are also fledglings, but I couldn’t be sure. I also wonder if the chestnut-sided warblers singing all over the hill are, in fact, mateless first-year males.
Before we turned back, I heard the caws of crows, peered over the rise, and sure enough saw a pair of them flapping after a red-tail. Third red-tail in three days, I’m pretty sure. Not long after, another bird zipped up and began harrassing the hawk.
Eastern towhee fledgling.
Black-and-white warbler, hermit thrush, and pewee down in the lower woods. All three resident thrushes were singing.
Tonight, just now, I would judge the temperature outside as about the same as the temperature inside—which was cooler for most of the day, since (thinking ahead) I kept the windows closed. It must’ve hit 90 out.
Summer at last.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo*
2. Chestnut-sided warbler*
3. Black-throated green warbler* (v)
4. Ovenbird* (v)
5. Veery (v)
6. American robin* (v)
7. American redstart* (v)
8. Eastern towhee
9. Black-capped chickadee
10. Common yellowthroat*
11. American crow*
12. Mourning dove*
13. Gray catbird*
14. Yellow warbler* (v)
15. Cedar waxwing*
16. Eastern phoebe
17. Savannah sparrow (v)
18. Song sparrow* (v)
19. Red-tailed hawk
20. Alder flycatcher (v)
21. Black-and-white warbler* (v)
22. Hermit thrush* (v)
23. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
Elsewhere
24. House finch (v)
25. Tufted titmouse (v)
26. Herring gull
27. House sparrow (v)
28. American goldfinch (v)
29. Chipping sparrow (v)
30. Osprey
31. Northern cardinal (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, osprey, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, red-tailed hawk, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, veery, yellow warbler
