Cedar waxwing.
The latest sunny one in a string of sunny ones. A little warmer than yesterday. A lot windier. Work and errands this morning—noticed the house finch singing again across the road—then took a nice, long bike ride. Heading north, in fact, I believe I rode faster than I ever have over a long distance; heading south, my muscles burned.
Garter snake..
And then Jack and I hit the wooded Beech Hill trail.
Wind gusts rushed through the canopy and sent the treetops swaying. Made it hard to hear birdsong in a season when that’s the best way to identify them. Oh, you can’t dampen the calls of vireos, and chickadees were active close enough to the trail to hear. Waxwings and goldfinches overhead. And the voices of towhees are loud enough to carry. But I heard only a single mew! of a catbird, and two fairly faintly singing hermit thrushes. No chestnut-sided warbler again, and not a single sparrow at the summit.
No yellowthroats either, that I could hear—although I’m sure they’re all over the place up there. Did hear the peeps of an alder flycatcher. And came upon a garter snake. And watched sharply heeling sails out in the bay.
Robins flitted about in the lower woods, and I managed to spot a pewee for a change. Only thirteen birds on my hill list today. A famous prime number. Turned out some of the best birding happened during my bike ride: heard several chipping sparrows, heard a little family of titmice, saw Canada geese at Lily Pond. But mainly today was all about the summer wind.
Ah, the wind, the churlish wind. I love it so.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:45 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo* (v)
2. American goldfinch* (v)
3. Black-capped chickadee (v)
4. Eastern towhee (v)
5. Cedar waxwing*
6. American crow*
7. Gray catbird (v)
8. Alder flycatcher (v)
9. Herring gull*
10. Hermit thrush (v)
11. American robin
12. Eastern wood-pewee
Elsewhere
13. Northern cardinal (v)
14. Ovenbird (v)
15. House finch (v)
16. Ring-billed gull
17. Chipping sparrow (v)
18. Rock pigeon
19. Tufted titmouse (v)
20. Canada goose
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Canada goose, Cedar waxwing, chipping sparrow, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, northern cardinal, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse, wood thrush
