Common raven.
Sunlight angled through the blinds first thing, so I dragged my butt out of bed and whipped on yesterday’s clothes and gave the animals breakfast and then headed with Jack to Beech Hill.
Common yellowthroat.
Bright. Fragrant. Chilly. Windy. Not much in the way of birds, though—in part, again, because of the loudness of the wind in the clinging leaves. I did hear a chickadee and a jay. And a raven. Which then appeared flapping and croaking and headed east, into the sun. Before we’d climbed half-way up the hill, the raven was returning with something in its stout beak. Crazy.
Yell0w-rumps everywhere again. Also ticks—thought perhaps not quite so many, thanks to yesterday’s rain and/or the overnight chill. We stuck to the open trails today. [Tomorrow I’m planning a full-hill hike.] Paused to pick off ticks. Snapped some photos of ‘rumps. Admired the blue of the sky and the color creeping rapidly into the landscape. The west wind whipped. A finger-numbing wind.
It was nice to see a yell0wthroat lurking in the brush over the summit. They’re everywhere in high season, a dime a dozen. But what a difference a few weeks make.
Elsewise, today, I became aware of a number of other birds. Then clouds moved in suddenly and, rather late, I went out cycling. Rode fast. Saw gulls. Felt slight spatterings of rain against my face. Not much, though. I liked it.
Afterward, in evening, Jack and I stopped off at the grocery store just as a bank of dark textured blue clouds were moving in from the southwest. This side of the edge of the dark blue, nothing. Just empty sky. But to the north of this emptiness spread some lumpy, arty, lovely blue-gray clouds. Such a sky. I stopped in the parking lot to look at it.
We’re entering mid-October, after all. Autumn is upon us.
Yellow-rumped warbler.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
2. Yellow-rumped warbler
3. Blue jay
4. Common raven
5. Common yell0wthroat
Elsewhere
6. American crow
7. House finch
8. Herring gull
9. Mourning dove
10. Song sparrow
11. American goldfinch
Forest floor.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common raven, common yellowthroat, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, yellow-rumped warbler
