A similar start to yesterday’s hike—rather late up the main trail, overcast, damp, nippy, calm—but with a little sun brightening things up after a while. The sun also warmed things up. And birds were active.
Notable were a pair of larks, a loon in overflight, the croaks of a raven—and a rare glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker.
Pileateds themselves aren’t rare in the woods, but they’re good at making themselves scarce. Often you’ll hear their loud, distinctive call, and sometimes you can track one by its especially loud hammering. But I do love to get a peek at these lovely birds. Today’s female posed for a photo.
Beech Hill List
Starting at 8:04 a.m. EST (9:04 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Song Sparrow (v)
2. Blue Jay
3. Yellow-rumped Warbler**
4. American Crow*
5. American Goldfinch
6. Common Yellowthroat (v)
7. Hairy Woodpecker
8. Northern Flicker
9. Common Loon
10. Horned Lark
11. Tufted Titmouse (v)
12. Eastern Towhee (v)
13. Black-capped Chickadee
14. Hermit Thrush
15. Brown Creeper (v)
16. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
17. White-breasted Nuthatch
18. Common Raven (v)
19. Pileated Woodpecker
Elsewhere
20. Herring Gull
21. Northern Cardinal
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, common loon, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern gray squirrel, eastern towhee, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, horned lark, northern cardinal, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow-rumped warbler
