It was warm—about 71° (F)—when dog and I arrived at the trailhead rather early. Still some sun shining through the clouds, but the clouds were supposed to take over, with rain possible later in the day. Not many birds to start, but once we hit the edge between woods and fields, my species numbers kinda took off.
Young Red-bellied Woodpecker, sapsucker in the woods, a few Brown Creepers, jay and crow and raven. Most notable: a group of about fifteen cawing crows approached the summit on our return—and I spied what the source of their attention: a first-of-year Northern Harrier.
Still no rain tonight, but it’s supposed to start in the wee hours and rain much of tomorrow. We shall see what kind of hike we take. Exciting!
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:11 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo (v)
2. Hermit Thrush (v)
3. American Crow*
4. American Goldfinch
5. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
6. Eastern Wood-pewee
7. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
8. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (v)
9. Brown Creeper
10. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
11. Common Yellowthroat
12. Gray Catbird
13. Alder flycatcher (v)
14. Eastern Towhee**
15. Red-bellied Woodpecker
16. Eastern Phoebe
17. Downy Woodpecker (v)
18. American Robin* (v)
19. Yellow Warbler
20. Mourning Dove*
21. Cedar Waxwing
22. Song Sparrow*
23. Northern Flicker
24. Least Flycatcher
25. Blue Jay (v)
26. Northern Harrier†
27. Common Raven (v)
Elsewhere
28. Chipping Sparrow
29. Herring Gull
30. Chimney Swift
31. Osprey
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, Cedar waxwing, chimney swift, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, least flycatcher, mourning dove, northern flicker, northern harrier, osprey, red-bellied woodpecker, red-eyed vireo, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker
