Song Sparrow.
I have a Facebook friend named Jason Mott who is author of an engrossing novel called The Returned. A new ABC TV show is based on his book, which tells a story of people who died suddenly showing up again. I felt a little empathy today when I heard that first phoebe.
Staghorn sumac.
It hasn’t been that many months seen I’ve seen an Eastern Phoebe, and they’re not at all uncommon around here. But I haven’t heard them singing for many months. And their song is so simple and familiar. And they are among the earliest to return to their nesting territories. This morning I heard the voice of a phoebe for the first time this year—in fact, three of them.
But before that, just after dawn, as I was still in bed and sleeping lightly, I heard something else, something thrilling: the sudden call of a Carolina wren, just outside my window. This particular wren’s happy, joyful, cyclic notes are familiar from my youth in Texas, but I don’t hear them here very often at all. In fact, I’ve only heard one other Carolina wren at my place—and only one ever at Beech Hill. (I do hear plenty of ’em in September on Monhegan Island.) I awoke in a flash, excited as somebody’s kid on Christmas morning, to hear the song of this new arrival. Pulled on some clothes, fed the animals, and headed out to the truck with Jack. That’s when I heard that first phoebe.
On my Beech Hill hike with dog I saw three species of returning blackbird: more red-wing, grackle, and cowbird. Saw at least a hundred robins—and three singing fox sparrows, on their way up farther north. Song sparrows have been around for a little while now, but they haven’t been singing as they did this early a.m. Three, four, five of them trilling and chiming to high heaven. A few more geese flew over.
Clouds moved in later in the day, though. And tomorrow we’re supposed to get some rain. It is April, after all.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American Robin*
2. Tufted Titmouse**
3. Black-capped Chickadee*
4. American Crow*
5. Blue Jay (v)
6. Mourning Dove*
7. Herring Gull*
8. Red-winged Blackbird
9. Song Sparrow**
10. Herring Gull*
11. Canada Goose
12. Northern Cardinal** (v)
13. Common Grackle
14. Fox Sparrow
15. Dark-eyed Junco
16. Brown-headed Cowbird
17. American Goldfinch**
18. House Finch**
19. Eastern Phoebe** (v)
20. White-breasted Nuthatch
21. Downy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
22. Carolina Wren†
23. House Sparrow (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Ice.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, Canada goose, Carolina wren, common grackle, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, fox sparrow, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, red-winged blackbird, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
