Island and birds.
The morning seemed eerie in some vague way. There was a hint of sun, there was a wisp of fog. There were crickets. A nip in the air. A breeze.
Black-capped chickadee's black cap.
Jack and I dilly-dallied a bit and got to the hill at the late hour of 7:15 a.m. As soon as I opened the door, I heard the insistent voice of a flicker—first flicker in several days. Weird. Then a crow. Then a goldfinch. We set off at a brisk, steady pace.
Nothing too unusual about the ascent. Vireo, yellowthroat, chickadee, towhee, catbird. The species you can pretty much count on. I did hear a family of blue jays earlier than usual, and a nuthatch. At the summit, a sometimes-hotspot, we slowed. Towhees, sparrows, and a nondescript-looking yellow-rumped warbler. No phoebe. But a pair of mourning doves were perched on Beech Nut’s porch wall.
Angry savannah sparrow.
Out in the bay, fog wisps remained. They obscured some islands, revealed others. They puffed up behind the wind generators on Vinalhaven.
Coming down the open trail, I heard savannah sparrows, a yellow warbler, a titmouse, a cardinal, but that’s all. No chipping sparrow for a number of days now. Nor any field sparrow. No overlying hawks. A solitary gull.
Coming back up and over, the only species I could add was hermit thrush: a pair were calling along the lower wooded trail. But nearing the parking lot, I passed a tangly area where, coming around a curve, I’ve lately heard the sound of bird wings flapping away. And I saw a nest. Up in a sumac bush. And not that far away—a cedar waxwing, eyeing me.
There were crickets. A nip in the air.
Yellow-rumped warbler.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Northern flicker (voice)
2. American crow
3. American goldfinch
4. Cedar waxwing
5. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
6. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
7. Black-capped chickadee
8. Eastern towhee
9. Gray catbird
10. Common yellowthroat
11. Blue jay (voice)
12. Song sparrow
13. White-throated sparrow
14. Mourning dove
15. Yellow-rumped warbler
16. Savannah sparrow
17. Herring gull
18. Yellow warbler (voice)
19. Tufted titmouse (voice)
20. Northern cardinal (voice)
21. Hermit thrush (voice)
Elsewhere
22. House sparrow
23. House finch
Cedar waxwing nest.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, red-eyed vireo, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
