Barred owl.
Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Nah—I haven’t dragged a comb across my head for decades. But I did check the temperature first thing. Somewhere in the low-20s (F). Nippy out.
Barred owl.
Some sun early, but clouds moved in about midday. Things warmed to near freezing—but not quite. Chickadees flitted among the trees out back. Crows cawed and flapped around. Stuck close to the desk for much of the day. I thought about taking Jack to the breakwater again, but as daylight began to dwindle, I decided we should hike Beech Hill instead.
Good numbers of herring gulls were walking the tide at Clam Cove, I noticed. A single vehicle sat parked as we pulled into the lot. The remnant snow covering the trail had mostly turned to white ice, making things a little slippery. I heard chickadees calling from here and there close to the road. As we turned up the open trail, we met the woman and child from yesterday, but with a second child, too. The kids petted on Jack for a bit before we continued up.
Right away, I noticed a large dark shape huddled in a small bare tree. It looked almost cat-like, resembled a mammal of some kind. But sure enough it was a barred owl. We walked slowly and I snapped off a few photos. The bird was back-lit, however, and I knew there wouldn’t be much to see. But then, as I was snapping off photos, it flew.
Beech Nut.
The owl flew up the trail ahead of us and lit in a little birch. We approached slowly. We hadn’t got too near when it took off again and sailed over into the small lone oak where I saw a barred owl (the same bird?) in the fog a month or two ago. Now the lighting was better, and I took a bunch more pictures.
In all, we watched (yes, Jack was watching the big bird, too) as it flew from perch to perch five times, ending up in the small upper limbs of some scrubby brush down the southern slope. I waited until my hands began to sting before deciding to leave the owl alone and head on up the hill.
The sky glowed dimly blue and orange. Clouds marched along close to the water far out over the bay. Icicles hung from the eaves of Beech Nut. We stayed only briefly at the summit before starting back down.
Not much wind to speak of. Despite the nippiness in the air, in fact, it seemed remarkably pleasant for a January day.
Barred owl.
I slipped and slid a couple times while descending. The owl had flown away. But chickadees were still hanging around near the parking lot, seemingly having a grand old time.
In the dying light on the way back down Beech Hill Road, I saw a male cardinal zip across in front of us into a thick green tangle of conifer branches.
The air tonight remains calm and nippy. But still oddly pleasant. Starry and sweet. The kind of winter’s night that makes you feel happy to be alive.
Beech Hill List
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Barred owl
Elsewhere
3. American crow
4. Herring gull
5. Northern cardinal
Tags: American crow, barred owl, black-capped chickadee, herring gull, northern cardinal
