The temperature had barely warmed into the 40s (F) by the time dog and I hit the hill this morning. A blue, blue sky, not much of a breeze, not a lot of bird sounds early on. But as we neared the summit, things began to get interesting.
En route up there I heard (then got a glimpse of) a flock of south-bound geese. Had a hermit thrush and a couple of woodpeckers. And that’s about the time a Northern Harrier appeared. The marsh hawk was (as is their habit) floating low above the barrens, seeking out a mouse or vole. And then I heard the guttural croak of a raven—the kind that almost sounds like the bubbling up of a deep gooey liquid.
Spied the raven, which was flying west above the hill. A Cooper’s Hawk appeared, and the two circled each other suspiciously. Then the harrier rose up to join the party, and all three birds circled and veered and dove and tried to avoid each other. Down here on terra firma, I couldn’t’ve been more excited at this display.
Twenty species today. Who’d’ve thunk it in the month of November?
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:09 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American Crow*
2. Hermit Thrush
3. American Goldfinch
4. Black-capped Chickadee
5. Canada Goose
6. Hairy Woodpecker
7. Northern Flicker (v)
8. American Robin**
9. Yellow-rumped Warbler
10. Red-breasted Nuthatch
11. Downy Woodpecker
12. Dark-eyed Junco
13. Eastern Bluebird
14. Northern Harrier
15. Song Sparrow
16. Blue Jay (v)
17. Common Raven
18. Cooper’s Hawk
19. White-throated Sparrow
20. Brown Creeper (v)
Elsewhere
21. Wild Turkey
Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk
American Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American red squirrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, common raven, Cooper’s hawk, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, eastern bluebird, eastern chipmunk, hermit thrush, northern flicker, northern harrier, red-breasted nuthatch, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
