White-throated Sparrow.
Up early. An overcast above, a sliver of yellow-orange in the eastern sky above the bay. The Beech Hill woods seemed quiet at first as Jack and I started up the trail—a few subtle calls and notes, and then the distant song of a Hermit Thrush.
Blue-headed Vireo.
Coming over the little stream, I heard a song I hadn’t heard since last year: the clipped phrases of a Blue-Headed Vireo. Stood for a good while looking for it (a Mallard flew over) and finally spotted the little vireo perched on a high twig, preening.
Other subtle signs. Booming grouse. Burbling cowbird.The tseet! of a White-throated Sparrow. At the open fields, as I focused my binocs on a small distant bird perched high in a still-leafless tree, I saw another bird rise, and the first took off, and realized the second was a kestrel.
Coming down the main trail, Jack and I flushed a turkey. I wonder if it truly is nesting that close to such a busy passage.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler—and the song of a first-of-year Black-and-White Warbler. A pair of Tree Swallows circling Beech Nut. A pair of Great Blue Herons flapping slowly overhead.
Back where we began, I heard an Osprey’s cries, persistent, as if it was perched nearby. Then, from another direction, I heard the whistle of a Broad-Winged Hawk.
American Kestrel.
Subtle signs mostly. Nothing too overt or obvious. Every spring is different. And so, this year, it begins.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee*
2. Hermit Thrush
3. American Robin**
4. Eastern Phoebe
5. American Goldfinch**
6. Downy Woodpecker
7. Tufted Titmouse (v)
8. Yellow-rumped Warbler
9. Blue-headed Vireo†
10. Eastern Towhee
11. Mallard
12. Mourning Dove*
13. Ruffed Grouse (booming)
14. Northern Flicker (v)
15. Brown-headed Cowbird
16. American Crow*
17. White-throated Sparrow
18. Palm Warbler
19. Herring Gull*
20. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v)
21. American Kestrel
22. Song Sparrow**
23. Field Sparrow (v)
24. Savannah Sparrow (v)
25. Wild Turkey
26. Chipping Sparrow**
27. Blue Jay (v)
28. House Finch** (v)
29. Black-and-white Warbler† (v)
30. Great Blue Heron
31. Tree Swallow
32. White-breasted Nuthatch* (v)
33. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
34. Osprey (v)
35. Broad-winged Hawk (v)
Elsewhere
36. House Sparrow (v)
37. Rock Pigeon
38. Double-crested Cormorant
39. European Starling
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, great blue heron, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mallard, mourning dove, northern flicker, osprey, palm warbler, pileated woodpecker, rock pigeon, ruby-crowned kinglet, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
