Northern Harrier.
Had a nice busy day. Sunny, warm, and windy again—got a hankerin’ to ride my bicycle, but my schedule doesn’t (yet) allow it. My schedule does, however, allow a Beech Hill hike with dog.
This day, I walked around seeking a particularly low-flying female harrier. Much higher, a turkey vulture floated by.
And just now, late tonight, an eerie thing happened: took Jack out for one last pee, and after we’d walked across the dark deck, just as we got to the door, he stopped abruptly whipped his head around and up and looked directly at something high in the bare branches of the big oak behind us. He held the look for about a second, too, before returning his attention to the door.
My dog doesn’t do stuff like that if there’s nothing to see or hear there. Owl? Flying squirrel? I looked up for a few seconds myself but couldn’t see.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
2. American Crow* (v)
3. American Robin (v)
4. Northern Harrier
5. Turkey Vulture
6. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Elsewhere
7. Song Sparrow (v)
8. Northern Cardinal (v)
9. Herring Gull
10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, herring gull, northern cardinal, northern harrier, red-bellied woodpecker, song sparrow, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch
