American robin (with no tail), Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 09 April 2014.
Sun came up, I drug myself out of a bed that I didn’t climb into until the wee hours, fed Jack, then we went for a two-hour hike at Beech Hill. Tons of birds today but no great photos—other, perhaps, than the novelty shot I got of a robin with no tail feathers at all. (Its flight flight seemed OK, albeit a little slow and fluttery.)
Birch bark.
And, man, wasn’t it muddy up there. At first I tried to step around the mud, but then I gave up and kind of felt perturbed about it, but then I just started sloshing right through the mud and giggling. Blackbirds flying over, spotted a killdeer flying over, had a bluebird land in a tree right above me (except obscured by twigs), spooked both a grouse and a woodcock.
This morning, before jumping in the truck, I heard the song of a white-throated sparrow—but it was an imperfect song, wavering around and soaring high instead of staying steady like most strains of Old Sam Peabody-peabody-peabody-peabody! I remembered this bird later, when I spied the tailless robin. Because nobody’s perfect. There are aberrations everywhere.
Final note: I nearly rode my bicycle today—it was just about warm enough (mid- to upper-40s)—but I decided the wind was a little too strong.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Phoebe**
2. Black-capped Chickadee**
3. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v)
4. American Robin*
5. American Crow*
6. Red-winged Blackbird
7. Eastern Bluebird
8. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
9. Herring Gull* (v)
10. Ruffed Grouse
11. Northern Cardinal (v)
12. Song Sparrow**
13. Common Grackle
14. Killdeer
15. Brown-headed Cowbird (v)
16. American Goldfinch
17. Mourning Dove**
18. House Finch (v)
19. Downy Woodpecker (v)
20. Blue Jay
21. Dark-eyed Junco (v)
22. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
23. American Woodcock
24. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
Elsewhere
25. House Sparrow (v)
26. White-throated Sparrow (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, American woodcock, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, killdeer, mourning dove, northern cardinal, pileated woodpecker, red-winged blackbird, ruffed grouse, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow
