Great blue heron.
On rolling out of bed I felt a chill. Out the window spanned a mostly blue sky—but with an angular dark blue edge of cloud away to the southeast. This overcast must’ve just blown off, I figured. And now all was sunand brightness. And chill.
Sleet.
The cardinal made an early appearance, as usual. Song sparrow. Phoebe. And then, within an hour or so, a new overcast blew in, and the world went dim again. From the swaying of the still-bare branches, I could tell this weather came with a little wind. But we had Beech Hill to conquer, dog and I, as we do anew each day, so we headed out at late morning. And just as we did, the sky began to spit tiny white balls of sleet, which bounced and whispered and melted on the steps. The temperature was about 48 degrees (F).
Before heading up the hill, we stopped at the bottle-redemption center. Errands, you know. And the place was so near the Weskeag Marsh I figured we should make an appearance—so we did. Right away I spotted a great blue heron out on the pannes. And another. And then a third. Black ducks, mallards, killdeers, green-winged teals. Crows. Gulls. A red-winged blackbird flew over. I was glad we stopped by.
Great blue heron.
Up Beech Hill, of course, there was nothing to stop the wind, which whipped against us insistently. A pair of ravens swooped low over the southern slope, and a kestrel hovered on quick wings at the summit. From the back of Beech Nut, I spotted movement below—a male harrier teetering in the wind down the western expanse, dramatically pale, with black wing tips, but too far away for a good photo. Calling I heard robins, phoebes, a titmouse, a goldfinch.
Northern raven.
Within another couple hours, the second overcast had passed away, and the sky extended in a clear blue field for as far as I could see. After a bit of debate, I decided to go ahead and take a bicycle ride out in the blustery late afternoon. I was rewarded not new birds species but with a pleasant ache in my legs and rhythm in my breathing and sense of all being right with the world.
Today’s List
Northern robin
Song sparrow
Eastern phoebe
Crow
Black-capped chickadee
American robin
Herring gull
Great blue heron
Black duck
Mallard
Green-winged teal
Red-winged blackbird
Ring-billed gull
Mourning dove
Common raven
American kestrel
Northern harrier
House finch
Inland hills.
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, American robin, black duck, black-capped chickadee, common raven, eastern phoebe, great blue heron, green-winged teal, herring gull, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern harrier, red-winged blackbird, ring-billed gull, song sparrow
