Eastern phoebe.
Here on the 44th parallel, April seems to go on forever. You never know, and it varies by the year, but you’ll often get a day like this—gray, raw, windy. Worked at the kitchen table until I got antsy, at which point Jack and I took a drive over to Beech Hill, where we walked the wooded trails.
Turkey tail.
Not a lot of birds to be seen—unsurprisingly, considering the weather and the time of day (early afternoon)—but still a kestrel, still yellow-rumps, towhees, thrushes, sparrows.
On our return trip, it began to drizzle, so we hurried along the old stone walls and through the grove of big oaks and past the turkey tail fungus and the unfurling ferns.
(Damp also tonight and, from what I understand, tomorrow.)
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 12:45 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American robin
2. Hermit thrush
3. American crow* (v)
4. Herring gull* (v)
5. Tufted titmouse**
6. American kestrel
7. Black-capped chickadee (v)
8. Yellow-rumped warbler
9. Eastern towhee (v)
10. Eastern phoebe**
11. Northern flicker (v)
12. Savannah sparrow
13. Song sparrow** (v)
Elsewhere
14. House sparrow (v)
15. Northern cardinal (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, hermit thrush, herring gull, house sparrow, northern cardinal, northern flicker, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, yellow-rumped warbler
