A bright, chilly morning with a breeze. Upper 40s (F) to start, so I wore my birding hoodie—a smooth move. Wild birds, however, seemed relatively undaunted by the fact that the breeze was northeasterly, and dog and I had a nice hike.
That said, I had relatively few photo opportunities for much of our nature walk, which was a tad frustrating. Then, during our return, a long dark bird flitted across the hedgy trail ahead of us. It turned out to be my first Black-billed Cuckoo of the year. And the cuckoo stayed at its perch long enough for me to sneak up and get a few close photos of this handsome bird’s upper half.
Also noteworthy: a flushed woodcock, a vocal Least Flycatcher, and—at home—a fox carrying a deceased gray squirrel across the lawn.
Ah, spring!
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:11 a.m. sun time (7:11 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v)
2. Ovenbird**
3. Chestnut-sided Warbler
4. American Redstart**
5. Eastern Phoebe**
6. Blue Jay (v)
7. Black-throated Green Warbler (v)
8. Hermit Thrush (v)
9. American Goldfinch
10. Gray Catbird**
11. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
12. Black-and-white Warbler (v)
13. Eastern Towhee
14. Common Yellowthroat (v)
15. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
16. American Woodcock
17. Veery
18. Song Sparrow**
19. American Crow*
20. Yellow Warbler (v)
21. Field Sparrow
22. Least Flycatcher (v)
23. American Robin
24. Alder Flycatcher (v)
25. Scarlet Tanager (v)
26. Chipping Sparrow
27. Purple Finch (v)
28. Eastern Bluebird
29. Herring Gull*
30. Tufted Titmouse (v)
31. Brown-headed Cowbird
32. Northern Parula (v)
33. Red-winged Blackbird (v)
34. Black-billed Cuckoo†
35. Broad-winged Hawk (v)
36. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v)
37. Wood Thrush (v)
Elsewhere
38. Pine Warbler (v)
39. European Starling
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel (live one)
Red Fox
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, American woodcock, black-and-white warbler, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern bluebird, eastern gray squirrel, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, least flycatcher, northern parula, ovenbird, pine warbler, purple finch, Red Fox, red-eyed vireo, red-winged blackbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-throated hummingbird, scarlet tanager, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, veery, wood thrush, yellow warbler
