5 November 2026

Missed opportunities aren’t so bad

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013
White-crowned sparrow, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 02 October 2013.

Another white-crowned sparrow.

Another gorgeous, sunny, warm day. Worked, rode my bike, hiked Beech Hill with Jack. On our hike, I barely missed great photos of ruby-crowned kinglets and a pileated woodpecker—after first hearing its voice, I tracked it down on a sun-splashed birch trunk, where it made a dramatic (if too brief) appearance—but that’s all right. The missed opportunities make the nabbed ones that much sweeter. (Even if they are yet another migrating white-throated sparrow.)

Such a sweet streak of early-October weather.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.

1. Yellow-rumped warbler
2. Ruby-crowned kinglet
3. Northern flicker (v)
4. White-crowned sparrow
5. Black-capped chickadee (v)
6. American crow* (v)
7. White-throated sparrow
8. Pileated woodpecker
9. Mourning dove (wing beats)
10. Blue jay**

Elsewhere

11. Tufted titmouse (v)
12. Herring gull
13. American goldfinch (v)
14. Northern cardinal (v)

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

 

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Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson



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