Golden-crowned Kinglet.
It all began with a Golden-crowned Kinglet. My Beech Hill hike with Jack, I mean. The little bird was poking about among yellow leaves in the setting sun, and try as I might to grab sunlit likeness, I got only shady photos.
Savannah Sparrow.
It was a pretty birdy hike, though. Two hawk species (red-tail and harrier)—and possibly a third and fourth (swift, small, bird hunting just above the bushes, and what looked like an accipiter being chased by crows). A comely pair of Savannah Sparrows. A large convention of crows. It was a chilly afternoon, but at the sumit I stopped and chatted with a number of friendly fall visitors—a few of them also birders. We didn’t mean to, dog and I, but we spent about an hour and a half up there.
Earlier, while making a quick purchase at a big box store, I heard House Sparrows chirping inside the heated building. No doubt they found it miraculously warm in there.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Golden-crowned Kinglet
2. Downy Woodpecker (v)
3. Black-capped Chickadee**
4. American Crow*
5. Yellow-rumped Warbler
6. Red-tailed Hawk
7. Savannah Sparrow
8. Common Raven (v)
9. Northern Harrier
10. Song Sparrow (v)
11. American Robin**
Elsewhere
12. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
13. Herring Gull
14. House Sparrow (v)
15. Blue Jay
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common raven, downy woodpecker, golden-crowned kinglet, herring gull, house sparrow, northern harrier, red-tailed hawk, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow-rumped warbler
