Beech Nut
First thing this morning—a day, by the way, when we’re promised the possibility of snow—I heard again the voice of the cardinal I heard yesterday. At least I thought it was the cardinal. A cardinal has nested near my bedroom window for each of the last few years, and I’ve seen and heard it chipping now for weeks. But it occurred to me that today’s song was short. Just four or five whistling notes—not eight or nine or twelve. Still, it wasn’t until I stepped out with my camera to try for a photo that I realized it wasn’t a cardinal at all. It was a tufted titmouse. I realized this while scanning for the redbird; as soon as I did, I spotted the titmouse.
(Of course this has me wondering if my ID yesterday was bogus. Highly embarrassing, to a self-professed “bird-listener,” if so!)
Young red-shouldered hawk.
Along with the titmouse I heard the voices sounds of chickadees (and possibly even waxwings, though I couldn’t completely confirm) foraging around in my side yard. Then an antic group of gray squirrels kind of put a damper on things for the birds.
In mid-morning, I had a visit from a friend with an amazing young dog named Blue. As we were chatting, I heard an outburst from a group of crows in the area of the parking lot. “Hawk,” says I. And a quick glance confirmed it: the juvenile red-shouldered was back, perching in a low limb of a red oak, seemingly oblivious to the barking, hollering crows. My friend saw it, too. “It’s really tame,” says I, and to prove it I walked out to snap some photos. Frankly, the crows—while noisy—didn’t seem overly alarmed. It was almost as if they were just going through the motions.
Not a frigid day. For most of it, the temperature hovered above freezing. For me, a day of serious paperwork. Tedious, annoying, necessary. I finally got out of the office about 4 p.m.
In town I saw the usual species, other than rock pigeons (for some reason). Then I headed on up to Beech Hill. En route, I watched about six or eight black ducks glide down into Clam Cove.
Three crows and a red-shouldered hawk.
Two cars in the Beech Hill parking lot. More clearing work had happened on the sugar bush near the trailhead. The trail—still snowy, but soft. A quick walk up, thinking I might see a shrike or snowshoe hare. Of course I saw neither—nor even any bird or mammal. But the air was fresh, and the sky above was big and wide and richly colored.
Heading down, I thought of owls. They were around, even if I didn’t see one.
At 10 p.m. tonight, still no snow—though three to five inches worth is forecast. It’s been a couple weeks or more since we’ve had so much as an inch. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., has had three feet. I know folks who around here who are craving snow, dying for it. I’d just like again to use my snowshoes.
Today’s List
Tufted titmouse
Black-capped chickadee
American crow
Red-shouldered hawk
Herring gull
Ring-billed gull
European starling
Black duck
Pink sky, Beech Hill.
Tags: American crow, black duck, black-capped chickadee, European starling, herring gull, red-shouldered hawk, ring-billed gull, tufted titmouse
