Northern harrier.
Took a midday hike up the hill today. Nobody there at all when Jack and I arrived. But there were birds.
Eastern bluebird.
First, under blue-blue skies and a brisk wind, there were the usual Beech Hill chickadees, is all. But then about half way up the slope we encountered a flock of a dozen or so bluebirds. Stopped short. Watched, grabbed a few photos, and then they flew away. But I’d also heard a yell0w-rumped warbler among them.
A couple hundred yards later, a big bird rose from behind the hill in front of us: a harrier. Stopped short again, grabbed a few photos as the marsh hawk sailed lazily alongside us and off toward the southwest.
Descending from the summit, we ran into a couple of other hikers, and then a fellow birder. As we were chatting, a mourning dove zipped by.
Coming back down where the bluebirds were, I spotted a tiny passerine that turned out to be a yellow-rump. There were two of ’em, in fact. Turned out to be a fairly fruitful December birding day.
(And for once I got a visual ID on every species on my list.)
Yellow-rumped warbler.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 12:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Eastern bluebird
3. Yellow-rumped warbler
4. Northern harrier
5. Mourning dove
Elsewhere
6. Herring gull
7. Rock pigeon
8. Ring-billed gull
Tags: black-capped chickadee, herring gull, mourning dove, northern harrier, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, yellow-rumped warbler
