Yellow-rumped warbler.
Today is the equinox, and I marvel at how precise is the astronomical calendar around here. As we began our hike up the wooded Beech Hill trail this morning, Jack and I, I couldn’t help but notice the little layer of yellow maple leaves lining the path. And the reddish or yellowish or orangish foliage in some young hardwoods around the curve. Ironically, the temperature was far higher than yesterday morning’s—fifteen or twenty degrees warmer, in fact. But with all the ruddy foliage, the fickle breeze, the leafy trail, the smell in the air, I couldn’t help but recall an early pronouncement when I moved to Maine from central Texas thirty years ago: down there, the first day of spring is spring; up here, the first day of fall is fall.
Savannah sparrow.
And, oddly, not a lot of birds. Oh, the usual residents made an appearance. And a handful of yell0w-rumps appeared again in the first sun-soaked clearing. But no great clusters of warblers or other migrating songbirds in the regular places. Maybe because of the warming trend, or the southern wind, or the barometric pressure, or the phase of the moon.
I did see a couple hawks, though: a small accipiter that I’m going to call a sharp-shinned, and a northern harrier that’d been perched in the brush near the top of the wooded trail and took flight as dog and I approached. The harrier flapped up the opening that the trail made and veered out around the trees. Soon after, I heard Chuck and Greta behind us, and Chuck asked, “Did you see the harrier?” He’d seen the bird after we’d spooked it, as it sailed around through the eastern fields.
A savannah sparrow on the trail. A goldfinch and yellowthroat and vireo. And, nearing the parking lot again, a solitary robin.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Brown creeper (voice)
2. Blue jay (voice)
3. American crow
4. Black-capped chickadee
5. White-throated sparrow
6. Yellow-rumped warbler
7. Eastern towhee
8. Gray catbird
9. Northern flicker
10. Sharp-shinned hawk
11. Northern harrier
12. Savannah sparrow
13. American goldfinch (voice)
14. Common yellowthroat
15. Red-eyed vireo
16. American robin
Elsewhere
17. Herring gull
18. Rock pigeon
19. European starling
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, European starling, gray catbird, herring gull, northern flicker, northern harrier, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, sharp-shinned hawk, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
