Another lovely morning hike—a fair morning this day, with cool temps and fragrant air. A good selection of birds, including a couple warblers, a couple woodpeckers, a couple nuthatches, and a hawk.
I only got a glimpse of the hawk through a window in the summit spruces, and the first thing I noticed was its sideburns, and I thought I might have one of only a few peregrines I’ve ever seen on the hill. Only later, after I took a close look at the photos (and then checked in with a bird ID expert pal) did I realize it was not a falcon at all. Turned out to be a Broad-winged Hawk—the commonest hawk in Beech Hill Preserve.
Still I neat sighting though. (So that’s why it was so quiet up there for a change!)
(Earlier, at home, I heard the Carolina Wren again. Love that sound.)
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:21 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Great Crested Flycatcher (v)
2. Blue Jay (v)
3. Red-eyed Vireo
4. American Crow* (v)
5. Black-capped Chickadee
6. American Goldfinch** (v)
7. Hairy Woodpecker
8. Eastern Wood-pewee (v)
9. White-breasted Nuthatch
10. Red-breasted Nuthatch
11. Tufted Titmouse**
12. Eastern Towhee
13. Gray Catbird
14. Cedar Waxwing
15. Chestnut-sided Warbler
16. American Redstart
17. Common Yellowthroat (v)
18. Broad-winged Hawk
19. Song Sparrow
20. American Robin
21. Herring Gull*
22. Eastern Phoebe
23. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
24. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Elsewhere
25. Carolina Wren (v)
26. Northern Cardinal (v)
27. Mourning Dove
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, Carolina wren, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, mourning dove, northern cardinal, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatch, red-eyed vireo, ruby-throated hummingbird, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
