Eastern wood-pewee.
About the only difference between the Beech Hill trail this afternoon and twenty-four hours earlier was a breeze. Same temperature, same sky, same path, same trees, but now with a whisper of wind in the canopy. Of course this interfered with my ability to hear distant bird calls—not that that’s necessarily the reason I had only two species on my list until about half-way up the hill.
I heard the third species before I saw it: an eastern wood-pewee. There are a couple of families up there, at least, although they tend to stick to the darker, more forested part of the hillside. This bird seemed to be calling from directly ahead of Jack and me, nearer our scrubby upper section of trail. We got near it. We stopped. I scanned—and then saw it fly from a perch and snag a fly.
Its next perch happened to be facing us, maybe forty feet away, in full sunlight. I believe that’s the only time I’ve seen a pewee in full sunlight. And I appreciated its pose—which turned out to be the only bird photo I got for today.
Several of the same species as yesterday made an appearance, but six fewer in all. The white-breasted nuthatch I heard as we descended was not on yesterday’s list, so yesterday’s list had seven extra birds. But I can’t say I worry about numbers. I ended up delighted to have a photo of a wood-pewee.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. American goldfinch (v)
3. Eastern wood-pewee
4. White-throated sparrow
5. Gray catbird
6. American crow*
7. Common yellowthroat (v)
8. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
Elsewhere
9. Herring gull
10. Mallard
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, common yellowthroat, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, mallard, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow
