A curious thing happened at Beech Hill today. For the third time in a matter of weeks, I heard the booming of a Ruffed Grouse—the only times I’ve ever heard this dramatic thumping territorial display outside of spring. Well, today I managed to divine the direction of the sound—and caught a glimpse of a flapping wing in a tangle of brush by the road.

Crept through the snow with Jack behind me. Paused and waited. Sure enough, the bird emerged, and we had a brief, silent standoff.

One of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 10:15 a.m., I hiked the open trail.

1. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
2. American Crow*
3. Ruffed Grouse
4. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
5. American Goldfinch
6. Yellow-rumped Warbler

Elsewhere

7. White-throated Sparrow

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

 

Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, ruffed grouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 17th, 2017 at 11:54 pm and is filed under Lists, Observations, Photo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.