I have a feeling I’ve begun a post this way more than once before, but what a difference a day makes. Maybe the chilly air—upper-40s (F) first thing—or a favorable overnight wind direction, but what a bright and birdy morning greeted dog and me as we headed up the wooded trail.

Two kinglet species, four woodpecker species, ever-present yellow-rumps, another Swainson’s Thrush, a random junco.

But the highlight of this hike was our chance encounter—on the upper wooded trail—with a trio of Red-eyed Vireos. They were plucking berries in the yellowish vegetation just feet from the trail, and in the morning light I was convinced they were Philadelphia Vireos, a species I hadn’t seen in years. But an expert bird ID friend saw my photo caption and set me straight.

Ever educational, this birding thing.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:54 a.m., I hiked all trails.

1. Golden-crowned Kinglet (v)
2. Black-capped Chickadee**
3. American Goldfinch (v)
4. White-breasted Nuthatch
5. White-throated Sparrow
6. Pileated Woodpecker
7. American Crow*
8. Northern Flicker (v)
9. Yellow-rumped Warbler
10. Gray Catbird
11. Eastern Towhee (v)
12. American Robin
13. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
14. Red-eyed Vireo
15. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
16. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v)
17. Eastern Bluebird (v)
18. Hairy Woodpecker
19. Swainson’s Thrush
20. Purple Finch (v)
21. Savannah Sparrow
22. Song Sparrow
23. Eastern Phoebe
24. Blue Jay (v)
25. Common Yellowthroat
26. Dark-eyed Junco
27. Tufted Titmouse
28. Brown Creeper (v)

Elsewhere

29. Northern Cardinal (v)

Mammals

Eastern Chipmunk

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year

Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, common yellowthroat, dark-eyed junco, eastern bluebird, eastern chipmunk, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, golden-crowned kinglet, gray catbird, hairy woodpecker, northern cardinal, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, purple finch, red-breasted nuthatch, red-eyed vireo, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, Swainson’s thrush, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-bellied sapsucker, yellow-rumped warbler

This entry was posted on Friday, September 30th, 2022 at 7:21 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.