American woodcock.
Judging by the forecast, I’d expected rain—or at least overcast—but brilliant sun flooded through the blinds first thing, so I rose a little earlier than I’d planned to, dressed quickly, heated coffee in the microwave, clipped Jack’s leash on (clipped it on Jack, I mean), and took a morning spin up to Beech Hill. Cloudless sky. T-shirt warm. Mosquitos, gnats, deer flies, butterflies, dragonflies—all kinds of flying insects in the air—but I didn’t care. In fact, I rather liked the idea: food for fledglings.
Black-and-white warbler.
The day’s excitement came about half-way up the wooded trail, when we flushed a woodcock. But it didn’t tear away on whistling wings; it sort of fluttered away slowly, almost hovering. I knew what that meant. We stopped in our tracks and—with the mother bird making faint alarm sounds off in the brush—scanned the side of the trail for chicks. For at least ten minutes, while the mama fluttered around us, lurked in the shadows, made fleeting appearances, I scanned for the little ones but, still and camouflaged, they had simply disappeared.
(In a similar episode on the hill a few years ago, the chicks ended up right at my feet. It still took me a couple of minutes to see them.)
I’m sort of crazy about woodcocks. To see this hen so vigorously and single-mindedly attending to her offspring really struck a chord.
Especially, perhaps, coming on Father’s Day. Found an old photo today of my dad and little sister and me. I must’ve been about three years old and was perched happily on a tricycle. In honor of that long-ago moment in time—in the photograph, Dad was younger than my daughter is now—I took a nice long bike ride today.
Birch.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo**
2. Black-throated green warbler (v)
3. Ovenbird** (v)
4. Blue jay (v)
5. Eastern phoebe**
6. Gray catbird**
7. Chestnut-sided warbler**
8. American goldfinch
9. Black-capped chickadee (v)
10. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
11. Black-and-white warbler**
12. Veery (v)
13. Hermit thrush (v)
14. Alder flycatcher (v)
15. Common yellowthroat**
16. Yellow warbler**
17. Eastern towhee
18. American redstart**
19. Mourning dove*
20. American crow*
21. American woodcock
22. Ruffed grouse (booming)
23. Great crested flycatcher** (v)
24. Song sparrow**
25. Purple finch
26. Savannah sparrow
27. Field sparrow (v)
28. Northern cardinal** (v)
29. American robin* (v)
30. Eastern wood-pewee** (v)
31. Osprey (v)
32. Black-throated blue warbler** (v)
33. Hairy woodpecker
Elsewhere
34. House finch (v)
35. Herring gull
36. Broad-winged hawk (v)
37. Chipping sparrow (v)
38. Rock pigeon
39. European starling (v)
40. Turkey vulture
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, American woodcock, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, osprey, ovenbird, purple finch, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, turkey vulture, veery, yellow warbler
