Blueberry chase.
After a crystal clear night with a hint of an aurora, we had a chilly, overcast day today, with a hint of fall—and rain toward the end of it. Hearing of the promise of rain, I took Jack up to Beech Hill early. Already it was cloudy and cool. In fact, I wore a sweatshirt.
The bay today.
But birds were about. Nervous birds, excited birds, excitable birds. Quiet vireos, groups of young waxwings (saw a little skirmish over a blueberry), skittish catbirds, Song Sparrows, a pair of phoebes. We walked over the summit and down toward the woods a ways, but the trail down there was seriously overgrown with asters and sumac, and I kept looking at my jeans legs for deer ticks, and at one point I found one, so we turned around.
In a week I’ll be headed out to Monhegan. Really looking forward to it. It’s kind of where my mind is at.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 9:45 a.m., I hiked the open trial—and then some.
1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. Gray Catbird
3. Red-eyed Vireo (v)
4. Eastern Phoebe
5. Cedar Waxwing
6. American Crow*
7. Blue Jay**
8. Common Yellowthroat (v)
9. Song Sparrow
10. Eastern Towhee (v)
11. American Goldfinch (v)
12. Yell0w-rumped Warbler
Elsewhere
13. Herring Gull
14. Mourning Dove
15. Rock Pigeon
16. House Sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, song sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
