Common yellowthroat (female).
We hit the Beech Hill trail after work today, Jack, my dog, and me. Another gorgeous day that would’ve been perfect for cycling—if my bike wasn’t in the shop and I wasn’t still recovering from a broken rib (or two). But our daily hike was sweet relief.
Especially since the woods were so silent. Still. Peaceful. I couldn’t help but walk slowly, as quietly as I could. Not only because I didn’t wish to soil the natural peace of the place, but also because that’s the only way to ID birds these days. Except, perhaps for goldfinches, which seem unable to fly at all without delivering their familiar “chickory-chickory” call. And crows, which can hardly help but be loud.
Alder flycatcher.
A catbird mewed very softly. The chickadees’s chips were like whispers. The yellowthroats and alder flycatchers made no sound at all. Thus, it paid to use my eyes for a change—less trained than my ears, I must confess. I spotted two yellowthroats flitting in the trailside thickets. I spotted two flycatchers on perches low in the young trailside trees. The call of a pewee wafted up from the lower woods—its abbreviated, late-season call. And I heard the subtle quay! note of a red-eyed vireo.
A couple of towhees did deliver their loud alarm notes, but they were distant. No waxwings on the hill for several days now—I figure they must’ve moved on.
I heard a flicker, but it only let a few notes fly. Heard the tseet! of a white-throated sparrow.
Perhaps my most notable sighting today happened at the summit, when we met an actual reader of this blog. (Hi!) No song sparrows up there, though—in fact, no trace of any bird.
Returning, as yesterday, Jack pointed out a few secretive turkeys creeping away across the leafy forest floor. Otherwise, only crickets, a red squirrel, a chipmunk, one loud cicada, and some butterflies and dragonflies—but not so many mosquitoes.
Just a peaceful wood, a quiet wood. The kind you find in summer.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American goldfinch (v)
2. Gray catbird (v)
3. American crow* (v)
4. Red-eyed vireo* (v)
5. Black-capped chickadee*
6. Alder flycatcher
7. Common yellowthroat
8. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
9. White-throated sparrow (v)
10. Eastern towhee (v)
11. Northern flicker (v)
12. Wild turkey
Elsewhere
13. Herring gull
14. Rock pigeon
15. House sparrow
16. Ring-billed gull
17. Mourning dove
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern flicker, red-eyed vireo, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey
