Bright horizon.
An overcast morning. And not very cold. A very light dusting of snow on the deck, but it vanished quickly thanks to a temperature somewhere above freezing.
Crows in the wood. Chickadees, too.
Weed flowers.
A busy morning of Saturday errands. Herring gulls and a wheeling flock of pigeons in town. Coming up Route 1 just beyond the hospital, I saw a couple-three crows dive-bombing a big bird perched on a bare limb overhanging the road on the opposite shoulder. A hawk of some kind. Having my camera with me, I pulled over, but as soon as the pickup stopped, the big bird flew, flashing a red tail like a quarter piece of pie.
At the dump, distributing recyclables into the over-stuffed bins. I looked up to see a couple flocks of small birds zipping overhead. Redpolls.
We hurried back down Route 1 and turned on South Street toward Beech Hill. Just before the turnoff, I saw what I thought was a jay crossing the road, but I got a good look at it on the trunk of a tree as I passed: a hairy woodpecker.
A few cars in the lot. Chickadees in the trees. Also a kinglet emitting its high-pitched, three-note call. And the faint beeps of a white-breasted nuthatch.
Birch.
We met a couple groups of ladies coming down the ice-slick trail, one group with two dogs and the other with three. I heard the cry of a flicker, the caw of a crow. Away to the south, a fine bright line of silver marked the distant bay horizon—sunlight flooding the water over there. Early forecasts had called for the possibility of snow, but I knew then there’d be no significant snowfall. At the summit, we stopped to listen. Nearly silent. Very little wind. Only the faint calls of chickadees from down the eastern slope.
Descending, I heard the croak of a raven. Then we met a couple with another dog. Eight humans, seven dogs braving the hard, slick trail today.
Later, sure enough, the clouds thinned. But they regrouped after dark—and a minute ago I even thought I felt a slight spray of tiny flakes of snow.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 12:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Golden-crowned kinglet
3. White-breasted nuthatch
4. Northern flicker
5. American crow
6. Common raven
Elsewhere
7. Herring gull
8. Rock pigeon
9. Red-tailed hawk
10. Common redpoll
11. Hairy woodpecker
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, common raven, common redpoll, golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, northern flicker, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, white-breasted nuthatch
