Beech Hill summit.
Today was a rainy day. Today came a steady rain. Today left me soaking wet, or damp, or sprinkled with water—multiple times.
I neither heard nor saw a bird for hours. Finally, I heard a gull out there in the rain. Then a cardinal called. A wet cardinal, no doubt. Ultimately, I heard a number of my avian neighbords—though nowhere near as many as if the day’d been bright and dry.
Evidence of pileated woodpeckers.
Dog and I headed for Beech Hill at midday despite the rain. Around the first turn, we flushed a woodcock. It didn’t fly far—just a few dozen feet over into a soggy patch of undergrowth. I got great looks at it, this squatty, weirdly put together fowl. I couldn’t get a good photo, though. We crept pretty close, but thanks to its perfect camouflage I lost sight of it for a second, and next thing I knew it had burst on whistling wings in the a southwesterly direction.
We reached the summit pretty soaked, especially considering the insistent wind up there. We got back to the pickup totally soaked. I dried the dog and on getting home had to change out of my jeans.
In a couple other drives today—through steady, spattering, chilly rain—I saw roadside song sparrows, a robin, a mourning dove. But unquestionably, the woodcock was the highlight of my day.
Today’s List
Herring gull
Northern cardinal
American crow
Black-capped chickadee
American woodcock
Song sparrow
Mourning dove
American robin
Solitary conifer.
Tags: American crow, American robin, American woodcock, black-capped chickadee, herring gull, mourning dove, northern cardinal, song sparrow
