Apple.
I awoke several times in the wee hours this morning to the sound of steady rain. Wasn’t sure quite what to expect at first light—but the rain had moved offshore and the day dawned merely damp and breezy, with wisps of fog floating along here and there. Had breakfast early and goofed off a while because Jack and I were meeting my friend Liz at 8:30 for a bird walk up Beech Hill.
Mushroom.
Seeing as how we got there early, I talked with Joe the Steward for a while. There would be some field clearing later this damp day, he revealed.
Still breezy and a little foggy when we finally started our hike up the open trails (the opposite of Jack’s and my usual route). The quay! of a vireo. The subtle peeps of black-capped chickadees. The squee! of a waxwing and the distinctive chip of the cardinal that hangs out along Beech Hill Road. A goldfinch flew over. Liz spotted three crows down the soggy southern slope.
And the voices of jays and flickers. We saw the flickers later—five or six of them, at least, most likely the same bunch that I saw yesterday up there. The usual white-throats, towhees, catbirds, yellowthroats.
Not much in the photo department, though, considering the dim gray lighting. I did get shots of a mushroom and a wild apple and a fearless red squirrel. And we happened upon a dead chipmunk in the middle of the trail at one point—a decapitated chipmunk corpse it was. I wonder in retrospect if a dog happened to get it. Its corpse was wet and flat and already returning to earthiness.
We did run into a couple of gangs of chickadees and other small songbirds—the first, coming down the lower wooded trail, revealed a black-throated blue warbler (along with some vireos), and the second came on our return, nearing the summit, when I caught sight of a redstart (along with some vireos).
A few savannah sparrows on the open trail coming down. And, finally, the voice of a pewee as we neared our starting point.
All in all, a nice, leisurely, satisfying hike with dog and friend.
Red squirrel.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. Cedar waxwing
4. Northern cardinal (voice)
5. American goldfinch (voice)
6. American crow
7. Blue jay (voice)
8. Northern flicker
9. White-throated sparrow
10. Eastern towhee
11. Gray catbird
12. Common yellowthroat
13. Black-throated blue warbler
14. American redstart
15. Savannah sparrow
16. Eastern wood-pewee (voice)
Elsewhere
17. Herring gull
White-throated sparrow.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, northern cardinal, northern flicker, red-eyed vireo, savannah sparrow, white-throated sparrow
