Ahhh, what a morning. For one thing, the sun came up and the sky was blue—so blue and empty of clouds, in fact, that I got a sort of strange, uncomfortable feeling that I might somehow slip the surly bonds of Earth and float off into the cosmos. But then I forgot about it and hiked Beech Hill with Jack, my dog.
Mallards along Rockville Street again. (Weirdos.) Plenty of singing birds, the usual suspects, sans any Black-throated Blue Warblers. Hummingbirds everywhere, what with the highbush blueberries blooming. Another Great Crested Flycatcher. The Red-bellied Woodpecker in the oak grove again. (Love those guys.) And a nice surprise: a Peregrine Falcon flapping over the summit as we approached along the wood-edge.
Forty-four species. Nice. No hawks other than the peregrine. But I got pretty close to a Nashville Warbler (backlit, unfortunately). And—thinking back to yesterday’s Bird Report—I heard four Type II warbler songs today (Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and what I assume was a territorial Ovenbird song that I’d never noticed before, with alternating in higher and lower pitches). Also crickets again.
This afternoon I rode twenty miles on my bicycle. Cool but sunny enough that I didn’t need long sleeves. Felt great, and I heard a bunch of birds.
Just a lovely, lovely day. Every day’s a goddamn blessing. Despite this month being the rainiest May I can remember, I guess I’m just an incurable optimist.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Mallard
2. Red-eyed Vireo**
3. Chestnut-sided Warbler**
4. Ovenbird**
5. Eastern Phoebe
6. Tufted Titmouse**
7. Black-throated Green Warbler** (v)
8. Common Yellowthroat**
9. Veery** (v)
10. Black-and-white Warbler
11. Eastern Towhee
12. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v)
13. Hairy Woodpecker
14. American Goldfinch
15. Mourning Dove*
16. Blue Jay
17. Black-capped Chickadee*
18. American Redstart**
19. Nashville Warbler
20. Gray Catbird**
21. American Robin*
22. Great Crested Flycatcher (v)
23. Alder Flycatcher
24. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
25. American Crow*
26. Hermit Thrush (v)
27. Northern Flicker
28. Peregrine Falcon
29. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (drumming)
30. Song Sparrow**
31. Northern Cardinal* (v)
32. Yellow Warbler**
33. Field Sparrow (v)
34. Cedar Waxwing
35. Chipping Sparrow** (v)
36. Brown-headed Cowbird
37. Red-breasted Nuthatch
38. House Finch* (v)
39. Savannah Sparrow
40. Tree Swallow (v)
41. Black-throated Green Warbler** (v)
42. Scarlet Tanager (v)
43. Red-bellied Woodpecker
44. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
Elsewhere
45. Turkey Vulture
46. Herring Gull
47. European Starling
48. Rock Pigeon
49. House Sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mallard, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern flicker, ovenbird, peregrine falcon, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatch, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-throated hummingbird, savannah sparrow, scarlet tanagerr, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, yellow warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker