Savannah Sparrow.
Some have no patch, no plot of ground
to call their own or lay claim to,
to get to know so well that they
can predict the day in April
when the very first kestrel appears.
Eastern Phoebe.
Some know on a daily basis
only their home, office, or yard—
a yard so pruned and manicured as to feel
like a habitat at the zoo.
They have no clue that the song
of a Hermit Thrush sounds like mist,
with its fountain of fairy notes,
or how the joyful, declarative pronouncement
of an Ovenbird resounds
throughout a hardwood forest.
I heard an Ovenbird today
on my familiar patch of ground.
It had been quicker to return than in past years.
And I heard three more warblers sing,
It happens every May Day.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Song Sparrow**
2. Eastern Phoebe*
3. Purple Finch
4. Black-capped Chickadee*
5. American Crow*
6. Eastern Towhee
7. Blue Jay* (v)
8. Hermit Thrush*
9. American Goldfinch* (v)
10. Northern Flicker* (v)
11. Common Grackle
12. Herring Gull*
13. American Robin* (v)
14. Brown-headed Cowbird
15. Northern Cardinal** (v)
16. Yellow-rumped Warbler
17. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
18. Tree Swallow
19. Palm Warbler
20. Savannah Sparrow
21. Chipping Sparrow* (v)
22. White-breasted Nuthatch* (v)
23. Ovenbird† (v)
24. Blue-headed Vireo (v)
25. Black-throated Green Warbler† (v)
26. Pine Warbler† (v)
27. Wild Turkey (v)
28. Downy Woodpecker (v)
29. Hairy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
30. House Finch
31. Osprey (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, common grackle, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, ovenbird, palm warbler, pine warbler, purple finch, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
