Eastern Towhee.
There’s no question that the most abundant bird species at Beech Hill Preserve—at least at this time of year—is the Eastern Towhee. Or maybe they’re just the most vocal right about now. All over the hill, along every trail, you’re admonished to Drink your tea!
What interests me is how varied a towhee’s call is. Most utter some kind of trill as the last of the three syllables, but the song of one I’ve heard up there ends with a high, thin Squee! And another bird—it’s settled in the same area for the past few years—offers up no trills at all, just three ringing chimes. On at least two days, I’ve heard a towhee whose last syllable sounds exactly like a goldfinch trill. (No, seriously, exactly.) Then again, often one of these birds will simply sing the first two syllables, skipping the third altogether. And an individual will have more than one style of call, which confuses things even more. A couple times I’ve chased after some crazy, unfamiliar song to find it belonged to a towhee.
Interesting also is just which birds are singing at this time of year. Towhees, of course, on this chilly overcast morning. And Song Sparrows. A few chickadees. The Chipping Sparrow down by the road. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are still singing (they seem plentiful in migration this year), and a few of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that are moving through. Savannah Sparrows have just begun to sing some, but they’ll remain a little skittish until the grass greens up and thickens.
It was a pretty birdy morning for being so plain and gray. Heard a loon and a Red-bellied Woodpecker and saw a Palm Warbler. Jack and I ran into my birder friend Ed and his dog.
But at the end of it all, as we drove away, still ringing in my ears… Drink your tea! Drink your tea-a-a-a!
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee*
2. Tufted Titmouse (v)
3. Eastern Towhee
4. American Robin*
5. Northern Flicker (v)
6. American Goldfinch (v)
7. Herring Gull*
8. American Crow*
9. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
10. White-throated Sparrow (v)
11. Yellow-rumped Warbler
12. Song Sparrow**
13. Hermit Thrush
14. Brown-headed Cowbird
15. Eastern Phoebe
16. Savannah Sparrow
17. Northern Cardinal* (v)
18. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
19. House Finch (v)
20. Blue Jay (v)
21. Chipping Sparrow (v)
22. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
23. Mourning Dove*
24. Common Loon (v)
25. Palm Warbler
26. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
27. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
28. Mallard*
Elsewhere
29. Wild Turkey
30. European Starling
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, common loon, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, palm warbler, pileated woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
