Sky, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 07 August 2010.
Today was a disappointment, photography-wise. I had wonderful chances at photos of: an amazingly colorful dragonfly; a low-soaring broad-winged hawk; a red-eyed vireo perched on a twig in sunlight not a dozen feet away. In every case, aut0-focus doomed me—each image came out blurred.
But today was a spectacular day. I guess I’ll have to fall back on actual memories.
Common yellowthroat (female).
We delayed the time of our usual Beech Hill hike this morning, Jack and I, on account of I’d volunteered for two two-hour shifts at today’s annual public blueberry pick on the hill. I’ve volunteered for this Coastal Mountains Land Trust event for a number of years running. It’s fun. The public loves it. Blueberries bring people together.
Not only that, but a highly publicized weather front moved through overnight, and the air got dry and cool, and the sun rose to a spectacular Maine summer day: 54 degrees when I first checked, but about room temperature by noon—and not a lick of humidity (nor any deer flies) to speak of.
The hill was packed with blueberry pickers. On parking duty, I counted at least fifty cars at one point.
Turkey vulture.
I also counted twenty-seven bird species. Most of these came first thing, as usual, on our hike up from the wooded side and over to the blueberry fields. But a few came later, as we directed slow-moving traffic over bumpy, grassy hillocks: the red-eyed vireo, the broad-wing, a sailing turkey vulture. At one point, a black-billed cuckoo called about a half-dozen times; this, the only sign of a cuckoo the whole four hours we were up there. I also heard both hermit thrush and veery—their notes, not their songs. And the chip of a cardinal. And a joyous titmouse.
Just about everyone walking by, with buckets and kids and smiles, commented on the amazing weather. “What a perfect day for it” is a phrase I heard about eight or ten times. And many children got to meet and pet Jack, whose head grew noticeably larger for all the compliments. He’s a kid-magnet, for sure, that dog is.
So screw the lost photos. Now, in evening, with the dry cool air wafting through the screens, I’m just about as content as a man can be.
Soon-to-be-blackberries.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American crow
2. American goldfinch
3. Cedar waxwing
4. Red-eyed vireo
5. Black-capped chickadee
6. Common yellowthroat
7. Eastern towhee
8. Gray catbird
9. Song sparrow
10. White-throated sparrow
11. Eastern phoebe
12. Savannah sparrow
13. Black-and-white warbler
14. Hermit thrush
15. Veery
16. Blue jay
17. American robin
18. White-breasted nuthatch
19. Mourning dove
20. Tufted titmouse
21. Northern cardinal
22. Common raven
23. Yellow warbler
24. Broad-winged hawk
25. Black-billed cuckoo
26. Turkey vulture
27. Tree swallow
Elsewhere
28. House sparrow
29. Herring gull
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, Cedar waxwing, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, red-eyed vireo, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler
