Mount Desert.
This day began with a mole. A little mole nosing about in the grass when I took Jack out first thing. The day was clear and cool—after a warm and (very) windy night that left the yard littered with small branches. The mole scrambled quickly away and was gone.
Yellow-rumped warbler.
Got out for a hike in late afternoon. Jack and I found the wooded Beech Hill trail similarly littered with small branches. And lots of leaves. But earlier in the week, the Preserve crews (or maybe just Joe) had cleared the trails handsomely, and we found the going easy. Heard the whine of a vireo right away but couldn’t spot the bird after at least two minutes of hard looking.
Chickadees moving around, yellow-rumped warblers migrating through. Little flocks of waxwings, too. And flickers—flickers calling from several points on the hill.
At the summit, I heard yellow-rumps chipping up high in the spruce grove, six or eight of ’em, but couldn’t get a good view until about the same time they decided to flit away. While craning my neck, I happened to spot an osprey circling lazily, headed slowly south.
Returning, we came upon robins fluttering about in the dark woods. Six or eight of ’em.
And later in evening, in the southwestern sky, the moon’s crescent hung in sharp resolution.
Osprey.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:45 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo (v)
2. Black-capped chickadee**
3. Yellow-rumped warbler
4. Cedar waxwing
5. Northern flicker
6. Gray catbird
7. White-throated sparrow (v)
8. Osprey
9. American crow*
10. American goldfinch (v)
11. American robin
Elsewhere
12. Herring gull
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, gray catbird, herring gull, northern flicker, osprey, red-eyed vireo, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
