Savannah sparrow.
Because I knew I’d be tied up indoors for much of this day, I decided to head early to Beech Hill with the dog. Weather prognosticators were calling for a nice day—but lots of clouds still cloaked the blue by the time we arrived. I knew the wooded trail is ticky; I hoped it’d also be birdy.
Right away, from the trailhead, I heard three calling towhees. First-of-year to be calling. And because Beech Hill offers towhees all the things they love and need, I’ll now be “drink your tea” daily for months. Also heard robin, goldfinch, song sparrow, titmouse. Coming up were chickadees and the sudden, breathy boom of a ruffed grouse—in fact, quite nearby.
American kestrel.
About a third of the way up the trail, the clouds trailed off to the east, the sun came out, and the temperature rose five or ten degrees (F). Up the hill I heard the killy-killy-killy of a kestrel—then saw the bird, perched in the crown of a tree. Oddly, I heard a small flock of Canada geese flying over toward the summit. I found it also odd for us to be alone on the trail on such a lovely Saturday morning.
Turning a corner in the open part of the trail, I heard and saw sudden motion: a wild turkey, in the trail perhaps 50 yards ahead of and below us, laboriously taking wing. It sailed in not altogether ungraceful flight off into the greening trees.
Toward the summit, we also flushed a phoebe and some goldfinches. Then a tree swallow swooped up from nowhere, and I tried for a while to take its picture, only to discover that tree swallows in close flight are nearly impossible to photograph.
I heard four or five calling savannah sparrows and decided to head down the open trail. Savannahs, too, will be calling for months. Quite a few were recent arrivals. After taking a few photos of one in a bush, I noticed a cluster of people with scopes and binoculars some distance down the grassy southern slope. They appeared to be focused on a singing field sparrow. Beyond them, a hermit thrush called, and beyond it a northern cardinal.
Broad-winged hawk.
I cast about a sky gone swiftly, wholly blue and toward the summit spotted a large raptor soaring over, east to west. From behind me I caught oohs and whispers and the confident pronouncement, “broad-winged hawk.” This person was right. Nice broadwing.
Retracing our steps shortly after, I saw a hovering kestrel and tried for a photo as it swept down to a tree on the eastern slope. Looking at the photo later—a lame and blurry one—I noticed one little fan-tailed falcon in flight and another perched in the tree. This, and all the calling I’ve heard this spring makes me think they’ll nest this year.
Addendum: I neglected to mention that, during a midday break, I heard the rollicking call of a laughing gull coming from somewhere in the blue above me. I never did catch sight of the bird, but their voices are unmistakable—and certainly warrant their name. Also, while at Beech Hill, dog and I saw a snowshoe hare, a brown one, dashing off through a patch of last fall’s leaves.
Beech Hill List
At 9:15 a.m., I walked the wooded trail.
American goldfinch
Tufted titmouse (voice)
Song sparrow
Eastern towhee (voice)
American robin (voice)
Black-capped chickadee
Ruffed grouse (booming)
American kestrel
Mourning dove
Canada goose (voice)
Herring gull (voice)
Downy woodpecker (voice)
Wild turkey
Savannah sparrow
Northern flicker (voice)
Field sparrow (voice)
Chipping sparrow (voice)
Hermit thrush (voice)
White-throated sparrow (voice)
Eastern phoebe
Tree swallow
Broad-winged hawk
American crow
Elsewhere
House finch
Chipping sparrow
Rock dove
Green.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, broad-winged hawk, Canada goose, chipping sparrow, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, laughing gull, mourning dove, northern flicker, rock cove, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey
