Tailfeather problems (cedar waxwing).
One of my earliest memories is of a time in afternoon when I sitting or lounging on a couch with pillows covered with green, leafy fabric. The angular sunlight had illuminated the pillows—a narrow shaft of deep yellow light—and made the colors vivid. Dark greens, dark-dark greens, light greens. I remember being struck particularly by the rich olive green. I’ve liked the color ever since. And have always thought of afternoon light as conducive to contemplation.
Common yellowthroat (female).
On my afternoon hike of Beech Hill with Jack today, the colors of the foliage in the angular sunlight resembled the pattern on the couch pillows. The many shades of green were there, and the narrow shaft of deep yellow light. I felt contemplative all of a sudden. That’s when I remembered.
And I began looking everywhere for shafts of light, and the small scenes they illuminated.
There wasn’t much else to see up there this afternoon, frankly—at least not bird-wise. I did hear vireos, chickadees, goldfinches, towhees. The usual. I did see a waxwing with tail feathers akimbo, preening on a bare tree branch. I got a glimpse of a yellowthroat. And we met some humans in the woods for a change, an extended vacationing family. At the summit, we met again and chatted some. They were from North Carolina, very near where I lived in my impressionable years, where I first explored the woods alone. Those memories surely must’ve stuck with me, too.
I did catch glimpses of the two summit sparrow species: song and Savannah. But that was just about it up there this sunny afternoon. Well, other than the carcass of a robin Jack sniffed up along the side of the trail.
Painted lady.
I heard a living robin down in the lower woods, and also an eastern wood-pewee, where streams of ochre afternoon sunlight made sparse bright streaks in the deep shade.
Returning home, I decided my memory of leafy pillows must’ve come in the summertime those many years ago.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5 p.m, I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo (v)
2. Black-capped chickadee (v)
3. American goldfinch* (v)
4. Cedar waxwing*
5. Eastern towhee (v)
6. Common yellowthroat
7. Song sparrow
8. Savannah sparrow
9. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
10. American robin (v)
Elsewhere
11. Herring gull
12. Rock pigeon
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, herring gull, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, song sparrow
