Beech Nut.
A day much like yesterday: cool, clear, breezy, busy. Didn’t get out much until late in the day, and finally made it to Beech Hill without much light left. Shadowy woods. The faint peeps of chickadees. A brisk walk in air a little cooler than yesterday.
Fern.
About half-way up, I heard slight chip! sounds like breaking twigs: yellow-rumped warblers. And then the distinctive high-pitched voices of a flock of cedar waxwings. One waxwing perched briefly on a sunny treetop—too briefly for photos—and then the whole batch of them whirled away. Never did catch a peek at the yellow-rumps.
Farther up, I heard a batch of white-throated sparrows in the trailside tangles. Got a great look at one adult—but, again, too fleeting for a photo. A little farther along, more white-throats. Farther still, still more. By far the commonest species on the hill while we were there.
Crows were loud down the slopes from the summit. Heard a flicker call twice. Heard the percussive alarm note of a catbird.
Returning, more chickadees—and flitting along with them, warblers. I wish I could tell you exactly what warblers, but they moved too swiftly and kept too far in the greenery. One looked like a Nashville; another resembled a Wilson’s. I can’t say for sure.
As we entered the bottomlands and the grove of old oaks, dog and I both heard something making noise along the fringes, and then we both had a great view of a white-tailed deer bounding away.
Passage.
The sun set earlier today than yesterday. Still the days are longer than the nights. But not for much longer.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Cedar waxwing
3. Yellow-rumped warbler (v)
4. White-throated sparrow
5. American crow*
6. Northern flicker (v)
7. Gray catbird (v)
Elsewhere
8. Herring gull
9. Mourning dove
10. Blue jay (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, gray catbird, herring gull, mourning dove, northern flicker, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
